Ontario government spends $1.7 MILLION in grants to 'combat the rise in hate crime'

The Ontario government has announced it will spend almost $2 million to help combat a supposed rise in hate crimes in the province.

Ontario Solicitor General Michael Kerzner said Monday that Doug Ford's Conservative government has allocated $1.7 million to be spent over two years as part of its Safer and Vital Communities (SVC) grant program, the goal of which is to promote safe and "inclusive" communities. 

The government funding will be disbursed via SVC grants, which are offered to non-profit community organizations and First Nation Band Councils in cooperation with their local police service. The Preventing Hate-Motivated Crime Through Community Collaboration grant totals up to $170,000 over two years.

It's not clear, however, how this cooperation will actually help "combat" hate crimes beyond publicizing statistics and raising the public's awareness of the issue.

In a press release, the Ford government claimed that over 1,700 hate crimes, incidents characterized as such by local law enforcement, were reported to police across the province in 2022, a 20 percent increase over the previous year. 

"Acts that incite hatred, fear and intimidation have no place in our communities," said Kerzner. "That is why our government is making additional investments to help combat the rise in hate crime and support community-based organizations that are working to address the root causes of hate in all its forms."

According to Toronto police service statistics, hate crimes against both Muslim and Jews have escalated dramatically since Hamas launched its latest round of terrorist attacks in Israel on October 7. Jews have been the target of most of these crimes, with antisemitic incidents skyrocketing by 211 percent since the war began. 

Police in Toronto have categorized nearly 100 investigations as hate crimes since October 7, with 56 of them being directed against Jews, 20 against Muslims, and the remainder against other identifiable groups.

Overall, of the 323 described hate crimes in Toronto between January 1 and November 20, 2023, 129 targeted the Jewish community while 34 were against Muslims or Arabs. 

During that same time period in 2022, 224 hate crimes were reported, including 129 against Jews and 34 that had anti-Muslim, anti-Palestinian, or anti-Arab motivations.