Thunder Bay Police Service didn't received a single reported incident of a hate-based crime in 2011, according the city's Crime Prevention Council.
Council heard a presentation about the new The Hate Divides a Community campaign at Monday night’s meeting. Amy Siciliano, the coordinator for the Thunder Bay Crime Prevention Council, told council that only one in 10 hate-based crimes are reported to police nationally.
“The most current data we have in Thunder Bay shows no reported incidents of hate-crimes in the city,” Siciliano said. “Individuals and groups affected by hate-crime are reluctant to report because of fear of reprisal, fear that they may not be taken seriously and that reporting will not result in a resolution.”
Despite there being few reports, Siciliano said the situation wasn’t an epidemic.
The grassroots campaign, which launched last week, started from concerned residents like Ron Kanutski.
Kanutski came forward last year following a violent alleged race-based sexual assault. The incident caused negative feelings throughout the community and brew criticism at the Thunder Bay Police Service.
The goal of the campaign is to stop hate-based crimes from happening.
But the problem Siciliano said is that there isn’t a universal definition of what makes up a hate crime with the only exception being hate propaganda under the Criminal Code of Canada.
Adding to the issue is social media.
Police spokeswoman Julie Tilbury said what’s posted online can be offensive to other people but at the moment that isn’t a crime.
“Looking at hate motivated incidents is new ground in Canada,” she said. “We’re all finding a way to deal with these issues. There’s a case currently in Toronto that is looking at things being posted online. We’re waiting for the ruling on that and the direction that will take in order to help guide us for other incidents down the road.”
