Racially motivated hate crimes up by 53 per cent in Montreal last year: report
Residents in Montreal may have heard anecdotally of more hate crimes happening last year, but now they have the numbers to back it up.
Montreal police released their annual report Wednesday, which revealed that racially motivated hate crimes in 2020 increased by 52.9 per cent compared to the year before.
In 2019, there were 87 race-related hate crimes, but that number jumped to 133 last year, according to the report. What police classify as “hate incidents” also rose to 60 in 2020, double the number from the previous year.
But if you ask advocates on race issues, they’re not surprised by the numbers.
"We were expecting that," said Fo Niemi, executive director of the Montreal-based non-profit civil rights organization, Center for Research-Action on Race Relations (CRARR).
"Since February 2020, there have been rising reports of hate crimes and hate incidents directed at people of Asian or Chinese-looking backgrounds, not only here in Montreal. In Toronto, and particularly in Vancouver. So it’s like a North American trend."
Montreal police data show that hate crimes relating to religion or gender decreased last year, as did those relating to sexual orientation. It’s crimes relating to race or ethnic origin that saw a huge increase.
For Niemi, the numbers are "an important measurement of hate" in the city and attributes hate faced by people of Asian origin to the anti-Asian rhetoric stemming from the coronavirus pandemic.
"We believe the association of the coronavirus where China plays a major part of that, especially when it was promoted by the president of the United States," he said.
'ASIAN COMMUNITIES ARE THE SCAPEGOAT ... OF THE PANDEMIC'
The number of racially motivated incidents could actually be much higher in reality, according to Dr. Winston Chan, entrepreneur and Montreal-based board member of the newly formed National Coalition of Canadians Against Anti-Asian Racism (NCCAAR). The organization is a grassroots initiative created by Asian Canadians to combat anti-Asian racism amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Chan said the numbers in the annual report are "not surprising" and believes they are "just the tip of the iceberg" since hate crime in Asian communities is underreported due to language barriers and lack of trust with police.
Though what was reported last year, he said, can largely be attributed to the anti-Asian sentiment from the public health crisis.
"I think the Asian communities are the scapegoat right now of the pandemic," Chan said.
"I think with the pandemic that racism has been transformed into physical and verbal assault in public space on the streets, or the grocery stores, in the subway. So, we see a lot of hatred, transformed into hate crimes."
He said police should commit to taking reports of hate crimes more seriously, as well as offer better training and hire more officers for the hate crime unit.
Cathy Wong, who’s in charge of anti-racism efforts for the City of Montreal, said while the numbers are troubling, at least they show racialized communities are not afraid to come forward.
"It means that Montrealers are denouncing much more and are using the mechanisms and bodies that are in place to fight against hate incidents and crimes in Montreal," Wong said.
OVERALL CRIME DOWN 11 PER CENT, REPORT SAYS
The report also offers a glimpse into an exceptional year for Montreal police, who were suddenly tasked with policing people’s movements in the context of the global pandemic. At the start of the pandemic, close to one third of all 911 calls were related to COVID-19, according to the report.
Officers handed out a total of 4,438 general offence reports or statements under the Public Health Act between March 12 and Dec. 31.
Overall, crime was down in Montreal by 11.2 per cent, with decreases in robberies (down 16.9 per cent), sexual assault (down 8.2 per cent), and assaults (down 2.3 per cent). Homicides remained the same with 25 killings recorded in each of the last two years.
Crimes that saw increases were vehicle thefts (up 10.8 per cent), attempted murders (up 7.4 per cent), and arson (up 4.3 per cent).
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING King Charles' cancer treatment progressing well, says Buckingham Palace
King Charles III’s doctors are 'sufficiently pleased' with his cancer treatment and he is expected to return to public-facing duties, Buckingham Palace announced on Friday.
BREAKING Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
'Unacceptable': Trudeau reacts after AFN chief says headdress taken from plane cabin
After the Assembly of First Nations' national chief said her headdress was taken from an airplane cabin this week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the incident 'unacceptable' and a 'mistake' on the part of Air Canada.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
From faulty kids' cribs to flammable kids' bathrobes, here are the recalls of the week
Health Canada issued recalls for various items this week, including kids’ bathrobes, cribs and henna cones.
Taylor Swift dons Montreal designer's dress in 'Fortnight' video
A pair of Montreal designers' work has now been viewed over 41 million times. Taylor Swift dons a Victorian throwback black gown in her latest music video, 'Fortnight', designed by UNTTLD due Simon Belanger and Jose Manuel Saint-Jacques.
'Too young to have breast cancer': Rates among young Canadian women rising
Breast cancer rates are rising in Canada among women in their 20s, 30s and 40s, according to research by the University of Ottawa (uOttawa).
'Violation': CSIS had officer investigated after she reported a superior raped her
A CSIS officer's allegations that she was raped repeatedly by a superior in agency vehicles set off a harassment inquiry, but also triggered an investigation into her that concluded the alleged attacks were a “misuse” of agency vehicles by the woman.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.