Canadian Heritage Committee on Sept. 18th, 2017

[D/Commr Gilles Michaud, Deputy Commissioner, Federal Policing , Royal Canadian Mounted Police]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Good afternoon. Thank you for the opportunity to appear before this committee as part of its study of motion 103.

My name is Gilles Michaud. I'm the deputy commissioner of federal policing for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

The RCMP has a long-standing commitment and adherence to bias-free policing. In practice, this means that in the performance of their duties RCMP employees treat all individuals equally in accordance with the law and without abusing their authority, regardless of an individual's race, nationality, ethnic origin, colour, religion, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, age, mental or physical disability, citizenship, family status, socio-economic status, or a conviction for which a pardon has been granted.

Creating respect and valuing diversity is essential for the RCMP, as it is for any law enforcement agency. The RCMP places a high priority on building and developing effective partnerships with communities and other law enforcement agencies to build trust. These relationships are all the more important given that there remain individuals in the country who do not share our values of inclusion and diversity and hold views that are rooted in bigotry and prejudice. Holding and/or espousing these views is not of itself illegal; however, when such beliefs lead to or inspire violence, law enforcement must and does act.

The process by which individuals become convinced that violence against others is a legitimate way to advance their cause is known as “radicalization to violence”. In Canada, this most often manifests as acts of violence against some type of identifiable group, referred to as hate crime. The Criminal Code contains specific offences related to hate: sections 318, 319, and 430. Common offences include, but are not limited to, intimidation, harassment, mischief, and uttering threats against persons or property. There are no Criminal Code provisions for violent hate crimes, just sentencing requirements.

Section 718.2 of the code encourages judges to treat violent offences such as murder as hate crimes if there is evidence that the act was motivated by bias, prejudice or hate based on race, religion, sexual orientation, or any other similar factor. Therefore, some type of primary activity must be investigated for hate sentencing requirements to be considered.

Given the nature of these offences, the responsibility for these investigations falls to the police force of jurisdiction in communities across the country. As you know, the RCMP acts as the provincial or territorial police of jurisdiction in eight provinces, three territories, and over 150 municipalities through our contract and aboriginal policing services. Contract policing is provided through police services agreements, which are negotiated between the federal government and the provinces, territories, and municipalities.

As the police of jurisdiction, the RCMP leads hate crime investigations. The RCMP also provides training and education. For instance, the RCMP national youth services program offers a variety of education and awareness resources on topics relating to ideological violence, as posted on the website of the Centre for Youth Crime Prevention. Resources are designed for police officers, parents, and persons working with youth to engage and empower them to make positive decisions.

Education programs such as this are essential in combatting hate crimes, as they encourage victims to report incidents so law enforcement can initiate investigations. Reporting of hate crimes is essential in order for the RCMP and all law enforcement agencies to respond to and disrupt acts of ideological violence, as well as to understand the magnitude of the problem in our communities across the country.

In areas where the RCMP is the police of jurisdiction, reported hate crimes went up from 160 in 2014 to 206 in 2015, an increase of 46 incidents. The majority of the cases reported appear to be motivated by race, ethnicity, or religion.

The priorities of the RCMP’s federal policing program include some of the more sophisticated and complicated types of criminal activity in Canada relating to serious and organized crime, cybercrime, national security and protective policing.

Given the role of the police force of jurisdiction and the need to act within the parameters set out in the Criminal Code, federal policing’s role in investigating ideological violence is largely limited to instances where an individual or group moves toward acts of terrorism as defined in section 83.01 of the Criminal Code.

Our investigations are guided by the definition of terrorism as outlined in section 83.01 of the Criminal Code. The definition is important to note. Section 83.01 of the Criminal Code defines terrorism as an act committed “in whole or in part for a political, religious or ideological purpose, objective or cause” with the intention of “intimidating the public, or a segment of the public with regard to its security, including its economic security.”

Therefore, for federal policing personnel to pursue a terrorism investigation, there must be an indication of an ideological basis and motivation for the act, as well as potential intent.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Mr. Michaud, you have three minutes left, and I note that you have a lot of pages. I'm going to have to cut you off at 10 minutes, so if you need to wing it, please do so.

[D/Commr Gilles Michaud]

Certainly, ma'am.

For charges to be laid, we must establish sufficient evidence to demonstrate motivation and intent.

Federal policing's efforts to address ideological violence are not limited to investigation, if and when an individual moves towards acts of terrorism or other sophisticated crimes. We make every effort to counter the violent ideologies that lead to violence, a process we call radicalization to violence. We use that term deliberately. It is not illegal to have radical thoughts. It is only when someone is moved to violence that law enforcement must act. Radicalization to violence is not limited to a single ethnic group, religion, socio-economic class, or political world view. Federal policing's counter-radicalization to violence efforts are primarily focused on preventing acts of terrorism. However, these efforts are also helpful in preventing all forms of ideological violence, as they help us and our partners to identify the people at risk of moving towards violence, and help identify measures that can be taken to get them off that path.

The RCMP continues to dedicate resources and develop training to respond to all forms of radicalization to violence.

I thank you for your time and would like to reiterate our commitment to working with the committee as you proceed with your study.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you very much. You did have one more minute left, Mr. Michaud. I kind of feel like I was leaning on you there.

The next group will be the Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, with Ms. Banerjee.

[Ritu Banerjee, Senior Director, Canada Centre for Community Engagement and Prevention of Violence, Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Thank you very much, Madam Chair, for the invitation to appear and to discuss Public Safety Canada's role in addressing systemic racism and religious discrimination, including Islamophobia.

Specifically, I will be speaking about the role of the Canada Centre for Canadian Engagement and the Prevention of Violence, which was formally launched by the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness this June. I'll be talking about our role in the context of addressing radicalization to violence and issues of hate, and also about some research outcomes and programming.

The Canada Centre for Community Engagement and Prevention of Violence was established to coordinate a more effective approach to countering violent extremism, which can include hate crimes and hate incidents.

Canada is viewed by many around the world as a model of peace, stability and diversity. However, our country isn't immune to racist violence and hatred. The tragic shooting at the Centre culturel islamique de Québec in Sainte-Foy; efforts to stop a potential bomber in Strathroy-Caradoc, Ontario; and the people who have been motivated to travel to conflict zones to support terrorist groups show us that there is no single ideology or cause of radicalization to violence.

In our view, radicalization to violence is a process through which a person adopts a belief or ideology that justifies violence to achieve a political, religious, or ideological objective. Violent beliefs or ideologies can be premised on intolerance or hatred towards an ethnic, religious, or cultural group. In this context, radicalization to violence may not only lead to terrorist activity but may also lead to hate crimes against certain groups. The Canada Centre for Community Engagement and Prevention of Violence provides national leadership and coordination on efforts to prevent radicalization to violence in three areas: first, we try to advance key policy priorities, such as the development of the national strategy to counter radicalization to violence; second, we support action-oriented research; and finally, we look to invest in local-level programming through the recently launched community resilience fund. To support its mandate, the centre has commenced engaging broadly with different levels of government, civil society, academia, the private sector, and most importantly Canadians, to discuss its work and help shape the development of this national strategy to counter radicalization to violence. Deep and meaningful engagement will help inform programming, research, and policy priorities. Coordinating efforts across all levels to ensure that Canadians have the full range of tools and mechanisms to address the array of threats facing our communities, including hate crimes and violent extremism, is our key priority.

Over the past few years, the department has funded research initiatives to improve our knowledge and evidence base on a range of issues related to extremist violence, including both terrorist activity and far-right violence. Several studies have examined best practices in developing alternative narratives aimed at diminishing expressions of hatred and violent extremism online. Examples of best practices include the use of humour and the building of empathy between speakers and recipients of hate speech to shift the conversation away from expressions of hate and de-escalate the risk of violence. Other best practices highlight the need for alternative narrative campaigns to be sustainable, to use appropriate platforms to reach the targeted audience, and to better understand the needs of a particular audience.

Public Safety Canada has also funded and supported a number of studies pertaining to right-wing extremism in Canada. In 2016, academics Barbara Perry and Ryan Scrivens published an in-depth portrait of the right-wing extremism movement in Canada. One of the findings of the report recommends using a multi-agency effort by partnering law enforcement with anti-hate community organizations to better address the threat. A second study on “The Future of Right-Wing Terrorism in Canada” was authored by Richard Parent and James Ellis as part of a working paper series by the Canadian Network for Research on Terrorism, Security and Society, also known as TSAS. The study points to Canada's democratic institutions, its support for diversity, and its policies of multiculturalism as resources against extreme right-wing ideas and movements. These studies provide critical information to inform on how best to design our approaches to counter violent extremism, including violence motivated by hatred.

Budget 2016 provided ongoing funding to create the community resilience fund, which gives financial assistance to organizations undertaking programming and research to address radicalization to violence in Canada.

The fund will be a key element of the Canada Centre's efforts to build domestic capacity at the local level and develop research. Four key priority areas for the fund have been identified. These are intervention programming; performance measurement and evaluation tools; action-oriented research; and youth engagement and the development of alternative narratives.

The fund’s current call for proposals is open until October 1, 2017. We hope to receive many proposals.

The centre is currently supporting a number of programming initiatives to help build local resources and services. One example is Project Someone, and that means “social media education every day”. It's based out of Montreal, and provides tools and training for educators who want to promote discussions on and awareness of hate speech through art and multimedia platforms.

Other examples of programming include support to multi-agency hubs to conduct interventions with at-risk individuals, and developing needs assessments on capabilities, vulnerabilities, and skills gaps in communities in the online space.

We are funding the development of the Canada evidence-based practitioners' network, which aims to support the growing community of professional practitioners and civil society actors in Canada who are involved in assessment, prevention, and intervention with individuals at risk of violent radicalization. Our approach is to support local solutions to local problems using local actors, as we feel this is a more effective way to support communities.

We are working with partners across Canada and internationally to share best practices, increase understanding of violent extremism, fund innovative projects and initiatives, and improve our ability to measure and evaluate results to demonstrate accountability to Canadians.

In addition to the community resilience fund, Public Safety Canada also has the communities at risk: security infrastructure program, which is commonly referred to as SIP. SIP will invest $10 million over the next five years with $2 million annually to help support not-for-profit organizations with their security infrastructure improvement needs. This can help communities that feel they are at risk of hate crimes improve the security of their places of worship, community centres, and educational institutions.

In conclusion, I'd just like to reiterate that hatred and radicalization to violence are interconnected issues that require many perspectives, a strong evidence base, and firm commitment on the part of all levels of government and Canadians to address them. Ongoing engagement with Canadians will help us better understand how we can best support and improve capacity at the local level to overcome the influence of violent ideologies and hateful beliefs. We are committed to working extensively with Canadians and with colleagues at every level of government to address this issue. I look forward to discussing this issue with you today and reading the outcomes of your study.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you very much.

Now I'm going to go to Mr. Trottier.

[Carl Trottier, Assistant Deputy Minister, Governance, Planning and Policy Sector, Treasury Board Secretariat]

Thank you for inviting us today to speak to you about recruitment retention programs and all the best practices the Government of Canada has to promote and support the diverse workforce and inclusive workplace.

The office of the chief human resources officer where I work supports the Treasury Board Secretariat as the employer. It is responsible for workplace and workforce policies, and terms and conditions of employment. It provides institutions with data, information, and advice on a range of HR-related issues. The work we do assists federal organizations to fulfill their responsibility for HR management, including recruitment and retention.

The Public Service Commission of Canada plays two major roles. One is the role of oversight to ensure the integrity of the hiring process. The other consists of providing a range of recruitment and assessment services to organizations.

Finally, the Canada School of Public Service has a full suite of learning and development programs, including orientation training for new recruits and other courses that incorporate information on employment equity.

A number of policy instruments also help reduce barriers and support the full participation of all groups in the workplace. These include the employment equity policy, the policy on the duty to accommodate persons with disabilities in the federal public service, and the policy on harassment prevention and resolution.

As part of our accommodation strategy, we also offer employees quiet rooms, which may be used for prayer.

All four employment equity designated groups, meaning women, aboriginal people, persons with disabilities and members of visible minorities, continue to exceed their workforce availability for the public service as a whole for the fourth year in a row. However, more remains to be done to reflect the people we serve and to strengthen a culture of diversity and inclusion. To that end, we have certain initiatives under way.

This past summer, 99 students, including 19 from outside of the national capital region, and 20 departments and agencies participated in the indigenous youth summer employment opportunity. Developed through a partnership established last year with the Assembly of First Nations, the program places indigenous, post-secondary students from across the country in meaningful summer jobs in a variety of departments and agencies. Through the youth with disabilities summer employment opportunity, 18 students who self-identified as having a disability were hired by seven departments.

In April 2017, the office of the chief human resources officer released tools that highlight best practices and guidance related to the onboarding experience. These tools, developed with the Canada School of Public Service and 12 departments and agencies, aim to help make the deputy minister's student pledge a reality and to reflect the government's commitment to improve how we recruit, onboard, and develop our student workforce.

More than 13,000 students were hired this summer across Canada by the public service. All of these students were invited to complete a new student exit survey. The analysis of the survey will be used to improve the experience for students in the future.

We are also partnering with LiveWorkPlay, a Canadian charitable organization that, among other things, connects people with intellectual disabilities with work. LiveWorkPlay has 18 successful pilot projects in eight public service organizations.

The Treasury Board Secretariat also supports deputy head champions who help advance specific priorities for the employment equity groups.

These deputies lead the work of departmental champions and chairs. Their work includes identifying barriers and priorities for action, education and awareness, and sharing their best practices. They are at the various stages of developing recommendations and action plans to support employment equity objectives.

When we looked at the challenges faced by each of the designated groups, there are some clear overarching themes, such as inclusiveness, engagement, respect, and particular opportunity for development and advancement.

We acknowledge that we have low representation in the executive category among three of the designated groups. These groups are women, aboriginal people and members of visible minorities.

Our executive leadership development programs optimize diversity and accelerate the development of high-potential leaders within the executive ranks. Diversity is leveraged to every extent possible when selecting cohort participants.

Last November, the President of the Treasury Board announced the creation of a joint task force to bring together both government and union representatives to explore new ways to strengthen diversity and inclusion in the public service. The task force mandate goes beyond employment equity to focus on how we can build a more diverse workforce and an inclusive workplace. The task force has consulted with employees and stakeholders across the public service. A progress update was issued in June 2017. The final report with specific recommendations for diversity and inclusion is expected to be released this fall.

One approach we're taking to reduce barriers to hiring minority and economically disadvantaged groups is to implement a new name-blind recruitment strategy. We’ve been working with the Public Service Commission of Canada on this pilot, which will provide insight on the effect of name-blind recruitment in the federal public service context.

The pilot will compare outcomes associated with the traditional screening of job applicants versus screening in which managers are blinded to the applicant’s name. The pilot will involve external selection processes from 16 participating departments. The pilot’s final report will be released by the Public Service Commission of Canada at the end of 2017.

I know time is limited, so I'll stop there and allow for questions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

You actually have about three more minutes, but thank you anyway, Mr. Trottier.

We will begin the questions. This is a seven-minute round.

Ms. Dabrusin begins for the Liberals.

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

First of all, I'd like to thank all of you for your presentations. That was a really wonderful global start, and there was a lot of information for us to pull from.

My first question is directed to Ms. Aitken. I don't need the answer verbally right now, but it's a request for you to provide to us in writing a breakdown over the past 15 years—why don't we bring it back to 2000—of the funding that has been provided to multiculturalism in the heritage department, and a breakdown of the programs for which the funding was provided.

[Jenifer Aitken]

As I am sure you know, the program was recently welcomed back into Canadian Heritage after having been at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada since 2009 or 2010, I believe. That will require some coordination between the two departments, so I appreciate your request being in writing. Also, I think it could be quite an extensive response.

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

I appreciate that. Thank you very much.

Actually, I will stay with you. Most of my questions right now are going to be about hate crimes data, because that forms part of this study. In some earlier questions, we talked about unified standards or a unified definition for hate crimes. I believe that, in your opening comments, you talked about the multiculturalism program supporting a nationally standardized data collection strategy on hate-motivated crime. I want to ask you a bit about that.

First, which department runs that strategy?

[Jenifer Aitken]

It's run by Statistics Canada. Although Canadian Heritage supports the initiative, it's really Statistics Canada. What they collect is police-reported hate crimes. They collect information from municipal and provincial police forces, as well as from the RCMP.

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

When was the last report generated through this?

[Jenifer Aitken]

The last report that was published applies to the year 2015, but it was published earlier this year.

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

For this strategy, is there a unified definition that is now being used for hate-motivated crimes?

[Jenifer Aitken]

If you look at the publications from Statistics Canada, you'll see that they describe what they mean by “hate crimes” in terms of the statistics they collect:

Hate crimes refer to criminal offences motivated by bias, prejudice, or hate based on race, national or ethnic origin, language, colour, religion, sex, age, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation or any other similar factor, such as profession or political beliefs.

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

I did look at the StatsCan surveys, but I wasn't sure the police reporting up to StatsCan were all using the same definition. That was the part I didn't have an answer to.

[Jenifer Aitken]

Other than the StatsCan definition, possibly my colleague from the RCMP could provide you with some further information about what the police do.

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

I'll go straight to you, if I may. How does the RCMP define hate crimes when it is collecting data?

[D/Commr Gilles Michaud]

Basically, the way it works is that we have what we call UCR codes that are utilized, which are based on StatsCan, and they provide us with the definitions by which we report on those statistics.

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

When you collect the data internally, do you collect it using that definition?

[D/Commr Gilles Michaud]

Yes, we do.

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

In your statement, you referred to an increase in reported hate crimes. From 2014 to 2015, there was an increase. Has there been any study to determine whether that is because more hate crimes were reported, or whether it reflects a greater incidence of hate crimes?

[D/Commr Gilles Michaud]

No, I am not aware of any studies that were conducted to analyze that trend at all.

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

So it's not clear whether it is one or the other.