Opponents of 'Your Ward News' call the newsletter a 'hate rag' and deride it as 'racist propaganda' that does nothing more than stoke the fires of hatred.
The publication, which is usually around 20 pages long, is fanned out 4 times per year in neighbourhoods across Toronto and includes editorials that attack minority groups.
Critics argue the articles demonize groups including immigrants, the LGTBQ community, and socialists.
The newsletter is often filled with grotesque cartoons and swastikas.
A community outcry over Your Ward News has led to 2 years of calls to shut the publication down and prosecute its editor and publisher, who use the newsletter to promote the neo-Nazi views of the New Constitution Party.
On Wednesday, Toronto Police charged 54-year old James Sears and 76-year old Leroy St. Germaine with two counts each of wilful promotion of hatred against an identifiable group, namely Jews and women.
Ontario's attorney general's office says its the first time ever in this province that a charge has been laid of wilfully promoting hate against women.
The Legal Action Committee of Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre for Holocaust Studies says it is 'pleased' to hear about the charges against Sears and St. Germaine, but Director Avi Benlolo points out they've been a long time coming.
"Its been extremely frustrating, especially for the Jewish community," Benlolo says.
"We know circumstances where Jewish homes were specifically targeted."
'Your Ward News' is so offensive that the Federal government has banned it from passing through Canada Post.
In addition to the criminal prosecution, Sears and St. Germaine face civil litigation over allegations of libel and uttering threats.