A Chinese-Canadian diner has sparked outrage online after a video showing him verbally abusing a waitress at a Chinese restaurant in Montreal’s Chinatown went viral.
The incident reportedly began after the man became upset when staff refused to provide him with a free plastic bag. Since 2022, Montreal has banned single-use plastic bags, requiring businesses to offer reusable bags for a fee instead.
In the widely circulated clip, the man repeatedly insulted the waitress in Mandarin, mocking her for allegedly earning minimum wage and calling her “poor” and “low class”.
“You are cheap. Why are you cheap? Because you earn minimum wage. You are poor,” he said during the confrontation.
He also attempted to insult the waitress in English, saying: “Minimum wage walker… right?” — apparently mispronouncing the word “worker”, which quickly led netizens to nickname him “Walker Bro”.
When the waitress responded by accusing him of lacking education, the man fired back: “I may lack education, but that’s different from being poor. Poverty lasts forever.”
The video quickly triggered heated discussion across Chinese social media platforms, with many condemning the man’s behaviour as arrogant and disrespectful.
Some netizens pointed out that there is nothing shameful about earning minimum wage, while others criticised the man for verbally attacking service staff over something as trivial as a shopping bag.
Others mocked the contradiction in his remarks, questioning why he claimed a lack of education was not permanent, while insisting poverty was.
Several online users also compared the incident to a recent viral case involving a woman on an AirAsia flight from Chongqing to Kuala Lumpur, who caused chaos onboard while repeatedly shouting “I am China” and falsely claiming to be a flight attendant.
Many commenters reminded the public that reusable bag laws are common across Canada, urging people to “bring an eco bag — and basic manners — when going out.”
