Thank you.
Thank you for having me here today. I want to acknowledge that I'm speaking to you from the traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation in Mississauga, Ontario.
My name is Mohammed Hashim. I'm the executive director of the Canadian Race Relations Foundation. The CRRF was born out of an apology to Japanese Canadians who were wrongfully imprisoned in internment camps during World War II. Part of their redress agreement involved the creation of the CRRF as an independent federal Crown corporation in 1996, which now lives within the Department of Canadian Heritage.
Our organization does research and community engagement, hosts policy discussions, provides funding to community groups and is currently supporting the creation of Canada's renewed anti-racism strategy, new anti-hate strategy and the strategy on combatting online harms with the government.
When we think about the ecosystem around IMVE, what ends in violence isn't always the full story. There was a journey that preceded the violence. We see many actors over time who start by being involved in hate incidents, then move up into hate speech, sometimes go further and commit hate crimes, and even commit violence as part of that journey.
We are not experts on IMVE, but we think the story starts far before the violence, specifically with hate, and that is where our work is primarily focused. It's work we know we can't do alone, and that's why we, along with the RCMP, are co-chairing a national task force on hate crimes. We are bringing together some of the brightest minds across law enforcement to improve training, increase public awareness and build standards for the police and community.
Hate is a growing concern in Canada and globally, and its targets are always changing. Racialized communities have been ringing the alarm bells for years. The night the Quebec City massacre happened, I was speaking to a friend who told me she was not surprised by what had happened because of the ongoing hate that had been targeted at Canadian Muslims and other minorities for years in this country.
The anticipation of violence towards that community was constant and is being felt by many today. There have been consistent failures on the part of institutions to take these harms seriously, which brings us to this moment. While it is crucial that we are here, it is equally important to note that this discussion is long overdue. When we look at hate and the administration of justice, it is hard to have faith that the system will right the wrongs.
For far too long, online platforms have provided safe environments in which hateful rhetoric has been able to spread without recourse. Those spewing such hate feel powerful, above the law or consequences, and those targeted are left feeling helpless and alone. According to the StatsCan survey on victimization, there were over 200,000 hate incidents, almost half of them of a violent nature. Hate incidents reported to the police over the past few years represent only a fraction—probably about 1%—of that number. There is a major gap between what people are saying they're experiencing and what is actually coming to the justice system's attention. There are real impacts on individuals and communities when there is so little faith in the system, even when the system actually works.
There was a recent case presided over by Judge Cidalia Faria. In this case, there was a woman who stepped in to intervene in a situation in which another woman and a child were being mistreated by a man. The man then focused on the intervenor, ripped off her hijab and assaulted her by hitting her in the face while yelling hateful rhetoric. The victim, who was known for being a strong community volunteer, said her voice was taken away from her and that the man said that if she spoke up there would be some horrible consequence for standing up. She is a very outspoken person and she doesn't feel as though she has been herself since then.
I share this with you because I think we failed the victim. I'm not going to question the judge's decision to let the guilty party off with a suspended sentence because of mitigating factors, but I do know that the victim in this case did not receive adequate support to restore her faith in this community.
She isn't alone. Victims of hate are often let down in this country, and, by extension, so are their communities. Canada needs a robust system to support victims of hate. We need this system not only to help individuals recover but also to ensure that communities feel supported through the process—from reporting a hate crime to getting support through a trial and afterwards to finding help to get back on their feet. We know that hate crimes are message crimes. It is time we sent a counter-message to the victims that they are seen and heard and will be supported.
I focused my remarks on victims today because far too often we look at hate crimes and IMVE with a focus solely on the perpetrator, while mostly ignoring victims. We must address prevention, investigation and prosecution as we are doing through our work on the national task force on hate crimes. We must realize what is at stake if we don't address the reverberating harms left on victims. When we leave victims, either individuals or whole communities, without faith that their concerns are being heard, we see people lose faith in democratic systems.