Renewed Funding And New Training Video To Aid In Fight Against Hate Crimes And Extremism

11 June 2006

Improved safety for communities that may be the target of hate crimes and intolerance is one of the goals of this year's renewed funding for Ontario's Hate Crimes and Extremism Investigative Team, Community Safety and Correctional Services Minister Monte Kwinter said today.

"We are on the side of Ontario families concerned about crime and safety," Kwinter said. "The McGuinty government is providing $200,000 in renewed funding for 2006-2007 to support the work of officers from 10 police services across Ontario who are members of the Hate Crimes and Extremism Investigative Team."

Minister Kwinter said renewed funding will allow team members to continue providing public information to school boards and community groups. The team has also produced a training video supporting its efforts to educate front-line police officers across the province about hate crimes and extremism.

"This provincial funding allows us to continue our valuable work for the benefit of our respective communities," said Sergeant Gerry Nugent of the Waterloo Regional Police and leader of the Hate Crimes and Extremism Investigative Team. "We offer investigative and enforcement assistance when and where required. It is far better to prevent a crime than to solve one. That's what our team does."

"The government of Ontario, and Minister Kwinter in particular, should be commended for their continuing strong support for this important initiative," said Bernie M. Farber, CEO of the Canadian Jewish Congress and one of Canada's foremost experts on hate crime. "The work of the Hate Crimes and Extremism Investigative Team under its expert leadership will, in my view, go a long way to creating a hate-free zone in Ontario, and is a model for other provinces to follow."

Other McGuinty government initiatives to foster community and police efforts to fight hate crimes and extremism include:

- Funding 11 community organizations that received a total of nearly

$500,000 to support victims of hate crimes

- Making available a team of Crown attorneys who are specially trained

in hate crime legislation

- Investing $68 million annually in perpetuity to support 2,000 police

officers.

"Our government is working to build a stronger Ontario where all Ontarians have a fair shot at success, free from being the targets of hate propaganda and the victims of extremism," Kwinter said. "We will continue to support police officers and community members who lead the fight against hate crimes."

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www.mpss.jus.gov.on.ca

Backgrounder

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McGUINTY GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES

HELP COMBAT HATE CRIMES

The McGuinty government has renewed funding for the Hate Crimes and Extremism Investigative Team in 2006-07 with a grant of $200,000. This follows last year's grant of the same amount that doubled from five to 10 the number of municipal and regional police services that are members of the team.

The Hate Crimes and Extremism Investigative Team

The joint forces Hate Crimes and Extremism Investigative Team provides specialized support to police on matters of hate propaganda, the promotion of genocide, hate-motivated crimes and criminal extremism. The team also prepares training materials for front-line police officers on hate crimes and extremism.

Officers from 10 Ontario police services are members of the team. The five original police services that formed the team in 2003 are London, Guelph, Hamilton, Waterloo and Ottawa. In 2005, it was expanded to include the Toronto, York Region, Durham, Halton and Oxford police services.

Definition of criminal extremism

Criminal extremism is defined as the criminal actions of an extremist: one who advocates or resorts to measures beyond the norm.

Training Crown counsel

Crown counsel specially trained in hate crimes legislation was made available to provide legal advice to the police and other Crown attorneys on hate-crime related matters. The Ministry of the Attorney General also conducted a review of the Crown policy manual and updated Crown prosecution policy on hate crimes to ensure that it is up-to-date, reflects legal developments and addresses the current social environment.

Funding community organizations fighting hate crimes

For the first time ever, organizations that support victims of hate crimes were invited to apply for funding from the Victims' Justice Fund that is reserved for community-based victim service programs. Eleven community organizations received a total of nearly $500,000 to support victims of hate crimes.

The Ontario Provincial Police

The Ontario Provincial Police maintains a Hate Crime and Extremism Unit as part of its Intelligence Bureau. This unit works closely with its municipal and federal counterparts in monitoring and assisting with hate crime issues.

Police services

The government requires that all police services in Ontario have policies and procedures in place to undertake and manage investigations into hate/bias and hate propaganda occurrences.

All police recruits receive hate/bias crime instruction at the Ontario Police College as part of their basic training.

Disponible en français

www.mpss.jus.gov.on.ca

For further information: Ashley Dent, Minister's Office, (416) 326-8268; Julia Noonan, Communications Branch, (416) 314-7042

Source: newswire

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