Homepage / Racism and Discrimination / Racism and Hate Crimes
<aside> ℹ️ This page explores hate and terror as a current issue in media and federal government agendas. Hate crime is shown in police reports, language use and more. Both the general population and the Canadian government perceive hate as a serious threat. The government has taken action against these terrorist groups and advocacy against hate continues through interest groups and government bodies.
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What is hate and terror like today?
Hate crimes make up 0.01% of crimes reported to the police. Yet a 2018 Statistics Canada report found that about two-thirds of people who have been victims of a hate crime did not tell the police. Even so, hate crime reports are still trending upward. The motivators of police-reported hate crimes are primarily race-related (42%) but are also based on religion (36%) and sexual orientation (21%).
Current events and political landscapes often have an impact on the levels of racism and hate. For example, the "Trump Effect" was used in 2016 by CBC to name a 600% increase in intolerant language between 2015 and 2016. There was a significant increase in hate crimes in Canada with the announcement of Donald Trump's presidential nomination and an even larger spike after his victory. Hate spread in physical spaces as well as on the Internet with hashtags such as #whitepower #whitegenocide and #makeamericawhiteagain trending on Twitter.
More recently, from 2017-2019, hate crimes have increased by almost 50%. A 2018 Angus Reid study found that most Canadians show a disparity in what they believe is a "very serious" hate crime threat. 44% believe that white supremacists are a serious domestic threat, whereas 59% of Canadians, on average, believe Islamic terrorism is quite a serious threat. For more information see the report here.
Source: Angus Reid Institute Questionnaire 2018
How Does the Federal Government Respond to Hate?
Terrorist entities listed under the Criminal Code have been growing in recent years with a total of 73 entities currently on the list. Groups on the terrorist list are subject to having their assets seized or may allow the Canadian government to place terrorist-related penalties on them. These penalties include revocation of charity status for financial support of hate, restriction of entry into Canada, removal of the entity's online presence, and criminalization of its recruitment and training. While hate groups attempt to recruit, gather diaspora donations, and violently spread their ideas, the Criminal Code restricts their freedom of operation. The following organizations, as well as many others, must then function through underground means and specific information on their operations remains sparse.