First Workshop on Anti-Hate Arrives in Victoria
VICTORIA – The Canadian Race Relations Foundation (CRRF), in collaboration with Statistics Canada, has officially begun its series of workshops on hate, starting in Victoria, British Columbia.
“As the first in our series of Building Bridges workshops, Victoria marks a landmark moment in anti-hate work in Canada,” said Mohammed Hashim, CEO of the CRRF. “Over the next two days, community organizations and law enforcement will receive critical training on identifying, understanding, and addressing hate crimes, and supporting victims of hate.”
The workshops have been designed to deepen understanding of legal thresholds of hate, as well as how to help victims in real, meaningful ways. The initiative is intended to provide a forum for productive discussion on difficult topics, and to build bridges between and across communities, as well as between and across communities and law enforcement.
“I’m very pleased that Victoria will be the site of the first in this national series of workshops, developed by the CRRF and Statistics Canada,” said Marianne Alto, the Mayor of Victoria. “Collectively, we all have a part to play in countering hate crimes and I am grateful that local community leaders and law enforcement have access to, and will receive, this training. I’m looking forward to participating myself, and encourage others to do so.”
The CRRF has been and continues to be actively involved in addressing and combatting hate in Canada. The workshop in Victoria will be followed by a second workshop in Vancouver.
Quick Facts:
- According to Statistics Canada, from 2019 to 2022, the number of police-reported hate crimes across the country rose by 83%.
- Police-reported data from 2022 indicated that the most frequently reported hate-motivated criminal offences were: mischief to property, assault and criminal harassment.
- Self-reported victimization data from 2019 showed that approximately 80% of what was perceived by victims as a hate-motivated crime had not been reported to police in the 12 months preceding the survey.
- Rates of hate in British Columbia in 2022 was 10.2 incidents per 100,000 population.
- Overall, hate crime in BC rose 62% from 2019 to 2022.
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The Canadian Race Relations Foundation (CRRF) is a federal Crown corporation committed to fighting systemic racism in Canada. The CRRF’s mission is to create systemic solutions and advance public policy on anti-racism through partnership engagement, creating awareness and mobilization. For more information, visit https://crrf-fcrr.ca/
Statistics Canada is the national statistical office. The agency ensures Canadians have the key information on Canada’s economy, society and environment that they require to function effectively as citizens and decision makers. For more information about Statistics Canada, visit https://www.statcan.gc.ca/en/start
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