Stuffed monkey stapled to bridge in Black N.S. community is 'disgusting,' says Digby mayor

Halifax resident Jasmine Cromwell said when she saw a social media post about a stuffed toy monkey that had been stapled to a bridge, she immediately recognized it from the historically Black community of Jordantown, N.S.

"I know exactly where it is and immediately realized what the post is about," she said. "So I read comments … and then I just felt a certain way." 

Jordantown, located in Digby County just south of the Town of Digby, has seen its share of racial tensions over the years, Cromwell said.

The bridge had long been in disrepair and some of Cromwell's family members who still live in the area have been trying to get it fixed. The stuffed toy appeared on the bridge after recent repairs.

It was attached to the bridge with what looks like a thick, metal staple. There's now a concern the road crew that did the repairs may have had something to do with the toy, Cromwell added.

Public Works spokesperson Jasmine Flemming said in an emailed statement that the department "stands with the residents of Jordantown."

"As a department, we will not tolerate racism and we condemn this act," the statement reads. Flemming wrote that Public Works was notified of the incident on Sept. 13 and has launched an investigation.

"Additionally, debriefs are taking place to help ensure that employees working for the department are aware of this incident, and understand the context and impact of acts such as this and why they are harmful," Flemming wrote.

Ben Cleveland, the mayor of the Town of Digby, said he also heard of the incident through posts on social media. He and the larger community of Digby were "disappointed" to learn of the incident.

"The Town of Digby and the outlying communities like Jordantown over the years have been working together on different initiatives and then for someone to do something like that, it's just, well, it's totally disgusting," he said.

Others in the community are similarly shocked, Cleveland added, as they try to work out what happened.

"Was it meant to be malicious? I don't know, but it certainly has caused some harm," he said.

The incident was reported to the RCMP Wednesday morning, according to Cpl. Chris Marshall, but authorities won't be able to investigate further because the display of the stuffed toy isn't be considered a crime under the Criminal Code.