Attack on Syrian refugees not the first hate crime in Canada

Nation has long history of discriminating against others

When the Muslim Association of Canada held a welcome night for Syrian refugees on Jan. 8, an unknown man on a bicycle ambushed a group of 100 people with pepper spray. Paramedics and firefighters treated 15 people from the attack.

As the story spread, so too did the idea that the event was a hate crime. Unfortunately, hate crimes are anything but new to Canada or the world. Hate crimes are verbal or physical assaults motivated by prejudice, intended to intimidate, harm or terrify the person who is assaulted and the entire group to which the victim belongs.

Nawal Addo, a Syrian amongst the group hit by the pepper spray, said, “Syrians have seen enough of their land, they didn’t leave it by choice . . . Canadians should know better.” The assault raises arguments of as “us versus them,” and “Canadian values,” these are not new issues—they were around well before we began welcoming Syrian refugees to our country.

Soon after the attack was reported, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted, “This isn’t who we are—and doesn’t reflect the warm welcome Canadians have offered.”

With this we return to the question: What are Canadian values? We have the highest per capita rate of immigration in the world. Indeed, immigration has always been pivotal to our economic success, yet hate crimes run abound.

It seems our diverse and culture-rich country is not immune to prejudice. Canada is a mosaic of world cultures where we encourage our new neighbours to bring their culture and customs with them when they enter the country.

In the late 19th and early 20th century, mass migration was the answer to tens of thousands of immigrants who fled to North America. Regardless of the success of farms and businesses developed by these new Canadians,“They were deemed dangerous, their lands and possessions were confiscated and they were interned by the thousands into concentration camps during World War I,” says Ehor Boyanowsky, a criminology professor from Simon Fraser University. This was a confinement that did not end until 1920.

Hate crimes are a part of a long history of prejudice in Canada. Hate crimes are actually against the law, as outlined in our criminal code. Under Section 319 it reads, “It is illegal to communicate hatred in a public place by telephone, broadcast or through other audio or visual means.” The same section also protects those being charged with a hate crime should their choice of words be valid or an expression of religious opinion.

Despite this, hate crimes still occur in Canada. In 2014, Statistics Canada reported the majority of hate crimes were racially or ethnically motivated. Only 13 per cent of the reported hate crimes were motivated by hatred of sexual orientation.

In June 2015, same-sex marriage became possible anywhere in Canada and the United States. Facebook showed millions of rainbow photos of members supporting and celebrating this. It was a far cry from what was reported to statistics Canada in 2011 regarding hate crimes against the gay community. Seventy-five per cent of hate crimes in Canada were committed against males, 85 of which were victims due to their sexual orientation, and almost half of those men were under the age of 25. These statistics are alarming when you consider the grief and damage that occurs to the mental and emotional stability of those victims.

The first step to not repeating our history would be to learn from it. In the face of hatred, if we do not take action it will persist. A hate crime is an attack on tolerance and human decency. When something happens we have two choices: we do nothing, or we do something about it.

As Canadians, with our country being held in such high regard for welcoming immigrants according to Immigration Canada, it is about time we stop seeing what’s different about us and welcome everything that is the same. Unity is the best strategy we can use against hatred.

Hate crimes only give us this opportunity to recognize the lesson we seem to keep missing. All we can hope for now, in regards to the hate crime outside the Muslim Centre, is that it will be dwarfed by the positive and generous actions of the millions of Canadians across the country.

We can show Syrians—and other nationalities immigrating and settling into Canada—how our communities can rally. We are a country rich in the tradition of welcoming a world of cultures and people to make up the mosaic that is Canada.