Hate and Bias Motivated Crime

• In an emergency, call 9-1-1
• In a non-emergency, call 403-328-4444
• Tips can also be submitted anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or through the web at p3tips.com

There is no such thing as a Hate Crime in the Criminal Code of Canada. There are only four offences in the Code that specifically pertain to hate; they fall under the Hate-Propaganda section and they are as follows:

• Section 318 - Advocating Genocide
• Section 319 (1) - Public Incitement of Hatred
• Section 319 (2) - Wilful Promotion of Hatred
• Section 430 (4.1) - Mischief Relating to Religious Property

There are many offences the public often refer to as Hate Crimes, however police refer to these as Hate-Motivated or Bias-Motivated Crimes.

Investigations involving these crimes are complex and it's important the public understands this difficult and sometimes confusing topic.

In order for police to lay a Hate-Motivated or Bias-Motivated criminal charge, there are two things that must first occur:

• A criminal offence must have occurred (e.g. an assault, damage to property, uttering threats etc.)
• Hate or Bias toward a victim must have motivated the criminal offence (e.g. because of the victim's race, nationality, ethnic original, language, colour, religion, sex, age, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation etc.)

Criminal offences include deliberate property damage, hate-filled graffiti, assaults, criminal harassment, or threats to cause injury or death. Hateful speech delivered on social media, in posters, and other literature may also be hate-motivated crime, if the communication targets an identifiable group and actively promotes hatred against that group.

Police must balance Constitutional Rights with the Criminal Code of Canada which makes investigations very complicated.

The following is a list of Criminal Code Charges that require consent before charges are laid:

• Section 318 - Advocating Genocide
• Section 319 (2) - Wilful Promotion of Hatred