Racist incident in Barrhaven sparks police investigation, community outrage

A viral video showing two people throwing eggs at a suburban Ottawa home while making racist remarks is sparking outrage across the city and beyond, with neighbours pinning the blame on the household next door that they say is the source of ongoing disturbances.

The front door security footage, which surfaced online last week, captures a man and a woman mocking Asian languages with imitative gibberish while standing on a driveway of a home in early June. The man declares he "f–king hates Asians" because "they're so ugly and can't talk English."

The woman living in the home that was targeted told CBC News her family, who has South Korean roots, has endured "unimaginable pain" over the past two years as a result of continuous noise and harassment.

"The situation has severely affected our new home, disrupted our daily lives, and deprived us of sleep, health and happiness," she wrote in a statement, adding she won't be commenting further as the matter is now under police investigation.

CBC has agreed not to identify the woman nor publish her address due to concerns over her family's safety. 

A man who identified himself as the ex-husband of the woman captured in the video told CBC his family members are in fact the real victims in an ongoing neighbourhood spat. As "one of the only white families" in the area, he said they were the ones being bullied.

The man had originally agreed to answer CBC's questions about the saga and share evidence supporting that different narrative, but he cancelled the meeting at the last minute.

"I'm retaining a lawyer and going through proper channels to defend myself and my family," he wrote in a text.

The landlord who owns the home where the alleged perpetrators live declined to speak with CBC about his tenants, who've been the subject of dozens of noise bylaw complaints since 2023.

Multiple residents in the newly developed area told CBC the tenants often play loud music late into the evening, have thrown trash at their neighbour's windows and hurled other anti-Asian insults at the family.

Ottawa police and the city's bylaw department are both investigating, with bylaw expected to issue infraction notices against the tenants.

None of these allegations has been proven in court.

On June 12, Ottawa police announced its hate and bias unit is investigating the egg-throwing incident that was caught on video and posted to social media. This isn't the first time authorities have been called to the property.

Amna Saeed, who lives in the neighbourhood and is a friend of the main complainant, said she has personally witnessed other instances of hate coming from the other household.