441-01978 (Justice)

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) is on alert for and categorically condemns violence aimed at any community.

The RCMP encourages that all hate crimes be reported to the  police of local jurisdiction. Such allegations would be subject to investigation by the police, including the RCMP where it is the police of jurisdiction. Subsequently, applicable actions under Canadian legislation will be taken to hold accountable all those responsible for such crimes.

The RCMP has a national operational policy to assist investigators responding to hate-motivated crimes and strives to build trusting relationships with communities by collaborating on crime prevention initiatives that enhance community resilience and promote bias-free policing. The RCMP has also provided guidance and reference materials for frontline members relating to the recent increase in demonstrations and hate crimes.

Along with the Canadian Race Relations Foundation, the RCMP co-chairs the national Hate Crimes Task Force, which was established in 2022 in recognition of the growing rate of hate crimes and incidents in Canada. Comprised of representatives from small, medium, large and First Nations police services from across the country, as well as Statistics Canada and the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General, the Task Force includes some of the country’s leading experts in the areas of investigation, community outreach and training. The group seeks to enhance the police response to hate crimes in Canada through the development of practical tools and solutions, including within the current context. Over the past two months, the Task Force has been sharing information and best practices, and collaborating on the development of aids to support the frontline response

Our Government has always firmly believed that there is no place in Canada for hate propaganda and hate crime, which includes those that target persons because of their religion. Our Government has been working to ensure Canada continues to be one of the most accepting countries in the world. All Canadians deserve to feel safe in their communities.

Our Government is taking concrete steps to fight hate crime and hate speech, in all its forms. Some examples of these efforts include appointing Ms. Deborah Lyons as Canada’s new Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combating Antisemitism. She will continue leading efforts to combat antisemitism and preserve Holocaust remembrance in Canada and abroad. Moreover, our Government appointed Canada’s first Special Representative on Combating Islamophobia, Ms. Amira Elghawaby, to serve as a champion, advisor, and expert to the federal government in its efforts to counter Islamophobia, systemic racism, racial discrimination, and religious intolerance.

Our Government has a responsibility to protect all Canadians from hate crimes, in particular by keeping community spaces safe, and that is a responsibility taken very seriously. One important tool is the Security Infrastructure Program (SIP), which helps community institutions fund the improvements they need to be safe. The Government of Canada is dedicating $5 million annually to the SIP to help protect communities from hate-motivated crime. On November 6, 2023, our Government announced an additional investment of $5 million to help Canadian communities at risk of hate-motivated crimes protect and strengthen the security of their community centres, places of worship and other institutions. A new temporary measure in the Security Infrastructure Program will cover new sites, such as office spaces and daycares, that are clearly linked to communities at-risk of hate-motivated crime, as well as costs associated with time-limited security guards.

On November 17, 2023, the Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs, and the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada met with their provincial and territorial counterparts to discuss recent global events and their impacts in Canada. They shared best practices to ensure the safety of legal protests, as well as potential additional measures to address hate crimes. Our Government will continue to work collaboratively with its provincial and territorial partners to combat hate crime and keep Canadians safe.

Canada has a strong legislative and policy framework in place to combat racial and religious discrimination, hate crime, and hate speech. The framework includes protections in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Canadian Human Rights Act, and non-discrimination legislation in every province and territory.

The Criminal Code contains four hate propaganda offences, namely (1) advocating or promoting genocide against an identifiable group; (2) inciting hatred against an identifiable group by communicating, in a public place, statements that are likely to lead to a breach of the peace; (3) communicating statements, other than in private conversation, to willfully promote hatred against an identifiable group; and (4) willfully promoting antisemitism by denying, downplaying or condoning the Holocaust. “Identifiable group” is defined as any section of the public distinguished by colour, race, religion, national or ethnic origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or mental or physical disability.

In addition, there are provisions in the Criminal Code to address hate crimes. These are crimes that are committed when motivated by hatred based on various grounds, such as race or religion. Paragraph 718.2(a)(i) of the Criminal Code requires judges to consider, as an aggravating circumstance in sentencing, any evidence that a crime was motivated by bias, prejudice or hate based on grounds including race, colour, religion, national or ethnic origin, language, sex, age, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation or any other similar ground. It is also a specific crime in subsection 430(4.1) of the Criminal Code to vandalize or damage certain property, such as property primarily used for religious worship, or property such as educational institutions or residences for seniors that are primarily used by an “identifiable group”, as defined in the hate propaganda offences. Responsibility for investigating and prosecuting hate crimes in Canada falls primarily to the provinces.

Finally, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada is continuing the work of his predecessor together with his colleagues, the Minister of Canadian Heritage and the Minister of Public Safety, to develop and introduce legislation to combat serious forms of harmful online content. This legislation will protect Canadians and hold social media platforms and other online services accountable for the content they host.

In addition, this legislation will strengthen the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code to be more effective in combatting online hate, and will reintroduce measures to strengthen hate speech provisions, including through the re-enactment of former section 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act. Recognizing the pressing need for this legislation, Our Government is working diligently to introduce this bill as soon as possible.

Canadians expect their Government to take action against hate speech and hate crimes. Our Government is committed to strengthening our legislative framework to combat hate and serious forms of harmful online content in the near future.