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OTTAWA — The recent terror attacks in Paris have unleashed a barrage of anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant comments on the Facebook pages of federal politicians and their parties in Canada — much of it plainly visible to the public.

Managing racist, sexist, homophobic and harassing material is just one of the new challenges facing parties who want to have an active social media presence, grounded in the concept of free speech and open dialogue.

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A Jan. 7 post on Stephen Harper’s Facebook account, in which the prime minister said he was “horrified by the barbaric attacks in France,” received approximately 575 comments. Some six dozen — expressing support for blocking immigration from Islamic countries, closing Canada’s borders or just criticizing Islam — were still on the page more than two weeks later.

“Time to step down on all Islamic communities worldwide,” wrote one visitor to the page.

Said another: “All muslims should go home and never be let back here please mr harper make that happen they steal real peoples jobs that belong to us canadians.”

A Jan. 14 Conservative Party of Canada Facebook post entitled “Protecting Canadians from Barbaric Cultural Practices” — aimed at promoting the government’s legislation barring forced or child marriages — elicited similar sentiments.

One example: “Deport them all if you want to save Canada.”

A handful of other comments were taken down after The Canadian Press asked the party last Tuesday about their Facebook policy.