Hate crimes are on the rise in the metropolis as elsewhere in Canada, but filing a complaint is still too complex, believes the opposition at Montreal City Hall, which is asking that the police simplify their whistleblowing tools.
Between 2019 and 2020, the number of hate incidents based on race, ethnic origin or skin color doubled in Montreal, according to data published by the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM). . As for hate crimes, they increased by 53% in one year.
But according to the counselor of Ensemble Montreal in the district of Louis-Riel, Alba Zúñiga Ramos, this is the “tip of the iceberg”, since very few victims report the incidents or the crimes of which they are subject. According to the Canadian Race Relations Foundation, only 1% of hateful incidents, speeches and crimes are reported to the police in Canada.
One of the problems, according to Ensemble Montréal, is that the online form available on the SPVM website for this type of crime does not allow an event to be reported to the police digitally. A message recommends dialing 911 instead.me Zúñiga Ramos at a press conference with Fo Niemi, director general of the Center for Research-Action on Race Relations, and Marvin Rotrand, former city councilor and national director of the Human Rights League for B ‘nai Brith.
The councilor in Marie-Clarac, Abdelhaq Sari, related that recently, six Montrealers wearing a religious symbol had been victims of hateful behavior on the part of an individual. However, only two of them reported the event to the police, he said. “The complaint process is complex for people who experience [des gestes haineux] because of their color, sexual orientation or religion. What we are asking is that the form be online and easy so that we can collect this data. »
Filing a motion
In 2016, the SPVM set up the Hate Incidents and Crimes Module, but this service has only five employees. “The intention to work against this scourge is there, but there are not enough people [qui y travaillent] says Alba Zúñiga Ramos.
All these obstacles mean that the extent of the hate crime phenomenon is underestimated and that the statistics do not reflect reality, indicates Ensemble Montréal. In addition, SPVM data does not take into account hate incidents that occur online.
In a motion that will be debated at the city council meeting next week, Ensemble Montréal is asking that the SPVM improve its whistleblowing tools on the Internet to make them more user-friendly and confidential. Fo Niemi and Marvin Rotrand contributed to the development of this motion.
The opposition party also suggests that training be offered to police officers to make them aware of the legal issues and the psychological impact of hate incidents on the communities targeted.