Matt Whitman, Halifax City Councillor, Accused Of Racism After 'Chinese Fire Drill' Video

HALIFAX — Police say they are looking into a video of a Halifax councillor and provincial Progressive Conservative candidate leaping from a car and laughing as he yells, "Chinese fire drill!" amid accusations that it is racially insensitive.

 

RCMP Cpl. Dal Hutchinson said Tuesday that officers are reviewing the video posted by Coun. Matt Whitman to determine what action, if any, is required.

 

"We'll look at it to see if it warrants us conducting an investigation," he said.

 

Whitman removed the short video Sunday, a week after he posted it to his YouTube page. At the time, he said it had become a "distraction."

 

The roughly 12-second video shows Whitman running around the car with a passenger after he screams the expression, prompting several people on Twitter to accuse him of being racially insensitive.

 

"'Chinese fire drill' is the kind of thing that should get people fired from public office," tweeted Melissa Mackie on Saturday.

 

Whitman, who is also the Progressive Conservative candidate for Hammonds Plains-Lucasville, would not comment, but said in a message that he wants to continue meeting with constituents.

 

"This past Sunday I decided to remove the video after seeing the distraction it became," he said in a text message to Global News. "I look forward to continuing to meet with constituents in Hammonds Plains-Lucasville to talk about the issues that matter to them."

 

Progressive Conservative Leader Jamie Baillie was not available for an interview about the video, and the party declined to give a comment.

 

Senator Wanda Thomas Bernard, who is a professor at Dalhousie University, said the expression is concerning because of its history.

 

"A concern that I have about the term is the racist origin and hence racist overtones," she said in an email.

 

The term dates back to a botched fire drill during the Second World War, according to University of King's College professor Simon Kow.

 

"Some people will find it offensive," he said. "It obviously taps into a stereotype about Chinese, meaning something which is chaotic, confused, incompetent, that sort of thing."

 

Kow, who is of Chinese descent, said in the context of more extreme comments made by public figures, the content of the video isn't surprising.

 

"It's not OK," he said. "People should be careful how they use language."

 

The RCMP has said police are also investigating whether the video was made while the car was on the road, and the force discourages people from this type of action while driving.