The CRRF welcomes Canada’s Action Plan on Combatting Hate

The Canadian Race Relations Foundation welcomes the announcement of the first comprehensive federal plan to confront hate in Canada. 

Over the last three years, the Canadian Race Relations Foundation has been a leading partner to the Government of Canada in the development of the Canadian Action Plan on Combatting Hate. The CRRF has provided key research, policy recommendations, innovative solutions, subject matter expertise and insight that has been reflected in this national plan to combat hate.  

In March 2022, the CRRF and the RCMP launched the National Hate Crimes Task Force, which has been developing national standards, and innovative advancements in public policy for improving the policing of hate crimes. Through this collaborative effort, many recommendations have come forward, of which many are present within this plan, including the creation of a Community Information Resource Hub, hosted by the CRRF. The CRRF thanks members of the Task Force for their insights and advice in developing these recommendations.

This is an enormous milestone in Canada’s progress with combatting hate in this country. The CRRF has spent many years investing heavily into communities and research to find new ways to understand and address hate, and we are glad to see many of our recommendations being implemented in this Plan.

Mohammed Hashim, CEO, Canadian Race Relations Foundation

The CRRF’s many years of policy intervention and community and partner engagement have repeatedly demonstrated that the gaps in Canadian systems to address hate are significant. However, the work to address hate cannot be undertaken solely by the government, as insights into impacts on victims and communities, as well as the services needed to assist them on their healing journeys – must come from communities. The CRRF appreciates new funding to our Federal partners at Justice Canada, Public Safety Canada, the RCMP, and Canadian Heritage for their new advanced roles in fostering these relationships and developing new learnings.   

The Action Plan provides the CRRF with new resources which will allow our organization to increase our work on addressing hate and consistently advance innovative policies to ensure the policing and prosecution of hate crimes is increasingly and more equitably made available to people in Canada from all lands and communities.   

The CRRF plans to launch the new Combatting Hate: Community Information Resource Hub in early 2025.  

The Action Plan on Combatting Hate acknowledges the alarming rise of hate in Canada and the urgent need to address it. As the federal government moves toward implementation, it will be crucial to continue to listen to the voices of impacted communities across the country. We look forward to continuing to collaborate to strengthen the work of the Hate Crimes Task Force and build policy that supports victims of hate crimes, changes narratives around racialized communities and counteracts the rise of hate in all our communities.