Woman charged in alleged racist Richmond incident uses racial slur outside court

Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated the man in the video is a lawyer representing Astrid Maria Secreve. It is in fact Michel Jean-Jacque Berthiaume. Secreve and Berthiaume are representing themselves in court.

A woman on trial for an alleged racist incident in a Richmond café was caught on video directing a racial slur and swearing at TV camera operators outside the courthouse on Friday.

Astrid Maria Secreve’s trial was set to begin Friday in Richmond. Before entering the courthouse, she spoke with TV camera operators, including a CityNews employee, outside and asked them not to film her, while placing a hand on one of them. The camera person asked Secreve not to touch him. In response, Secreve used an anti-Asian slur.

She then turned and walked towards the courthouse, lifting her suit jacket to flash her clothed bottom at the camera operators before swearing at them again.

Secreve and Michel Jean-Jacque Berthiaume were charged with mischief after an incident in March, 2021 at a Steveston café. A video allegedly shows the couple hurling coffee at an Asian staff member at the shop on Moncton Street near No. 1 Road.

The camera operators approached Secreve and Berthiaume when they exited the courthouse Friday. Berthaume ushered her away, and rushed the CityNews operator, telling him to “stay out of my face.” Secreve then held up her middle finger as the pair walked away.

A small rally against Asian racism was held outside the courthouse Friday.

“We hope they can get educated from the judgement, whatever the judgement is,” said Ally Wang with the group Stop Anti-Asian Hate.

“Canada is such a beautiful country and we wish every person can enjoy a peaceful life.”

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Last year, an article published by Bloomberg declared Vancouver the “Anti-Asian Hate Crime Capital of North America.” Based on numbers compiled by Bloomberg, Vancouver had far more reports of anti-Asian incidents than cities like Montreal, New York, Toronto, and Los Angeles in 2020.

In May, 2020, the Vancouver Police Department reported a “staggering” increase in the number of hate-related anti-Asian crimes in that city.

Secreve and Berthiaume’s trial has been postponed until Sept. 15.

With files from Eric Lai, Hana Mae Nassar, and Ria Renouf

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