Close X
Sunday, November 24, 2024
ADVT 
National

Hate crimes up 37 per cent in 2020: StatCan

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 18 Mar, 2022 10:39 AM
  • Hate crimes up 37 per cent in 2020: StatCan

OTTAWA - New data from Statistics Canada show the number of hate crimes reported to police across the country went up 37 per cent in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic compared with the previous year.

The agency says 2,669 hate crimes were reported in 2020 — the highest number since comparable data became available in 2009.

That's even as the report shows the overall rate of police-reported crime, excluding traffic offences, dropped 10 per cent from 2019 to 2020.

Statistics Canada says police-reported hate crimes targeting race or ethnicity rose 80 per cent in 2020 compared with 2019 and accounted for the bulk of the national increase.

It says reported hate crimes targeting East or Southeast Asian people went up 301 per cent; those targeting Black people went up 92 per cent; those against Indigenous people went up 152 per cent; and those against South Asian people went up 47 per cent.

The report says the highest increases in police-reported hate crimes were in Nova Scotia (70 per cent), British Columbia (60 per cent), Saskatchewan (60 per cent), Alberta (39 per cent) and Ontario (35 per cent).

No rise was reported in Manitoba, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick or the Northwest Territories, but the report notes the relatively small population counts and number of hate crimes in the territories usually make year-over-year comparisons less reliable.

Both violent and non-violent hate crimes increased compared with 2019 and contributed “fairly equally” to the overall rise in hate crimes in 2020, Statistics Canada says.

Hate crimes targeting religion declined for the third year in a row following a peak in 2017, the report says. But the 515 incidents reported in 2020 are still higher than what was recorded annually before 2017, it says.

The Jewish and Muslim populations continue to be the most common targets of religion-based hate crimes, it says.

There was a two-per-cent decrease in reported hate crimes targeting sexual orientation in 2020, but the 259 incidents reported are the second highest since comparable data became available in 2009, the agency says.

Statistics Canada says the increase in hate crimes reported in 2020 may still underestimate the number of incidents, given that not all are reported to police.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 18, 2022.

MORE National ARTICLES

New EV registrations hit Canadian record in 2021

New EV registrations hit Canadian record in 2021
Statistics Canada says 65,253 new battery-only and plug-in hybrid electric cars were registered in the first nine months of 2021, more than the number registered across 12 months in any previous year.    

New EV registrations hit Canadian record in 2021

B.C. aims to curb catalytic converter thefts

B.C. aims to curb catalytic converter thefts
The Insurance Corporation of B.C. says converter theft claims have climbed from 89 in 2017 to 1,953 last year, totalling more than $4 million in claim costs for 2021.

B.C. aims to curb catalytic converter thefts

Pandemic stalls B.C. associate physician plan

Pandemic stalls B.C. associate physician plan
The College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia proposed the new role of associate physician in April 2020 to address the province's health-care needs, allowing doctors who weren't eligible for a full licence to work under physician supervision.    

Pandemic stalls B.C. associate physician plan

B.C.'s minimum wage to go up to $15.65 an hour

B.C.'s minimum wage to go up to $15.65 an hour
The British Columbia government is pushing the minimum wage up to $15.65 an hour, which it says is the highest among the provinces. Labour Minister Harry Bains announced today that the hourly wage will jump by 45 cents starting June 1.

B.C.'s minimum wage to go up to $15.65 an hour

5 Indian students dead in Canada highway accident

5 Indian students dead in Canada highway accident
Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) have identified them as Jaspinder Singh, 21, Karanpal Singh, 22, Mohit Chouhan, 23, Pawan Kumar, 23, and Harpreet Singh, 24. They were pronounced dead on the scene.

5 Indian students dead in Canada highway accident

Fed study details groups hit hardest by tax system

Fed study details groups hit hardest by tax system
Women were more likely than men to lose out on 60 per cent or more of their extra earnings, which the recently released analysis chalks up to their slightly greater reliance on federal supports.

Fed study details groups hit hardest by tax system