City reports more than 3 times the national average
Calgarians are more likely to face hate-motivated crime than their Canadian counterparts, according to a study released by Statistics Canada yesterday.
In 2006, 92 hate crimes were reported in Calgary, which at nine per 100,000 people is three times higher than the national average of three per 100,000.
But local police believe the number is higher in Calgary than any other city because Calgarians feel comfortable reporting hate crimes to local authorities.
“I think it’s good and bad. It’s bad because it is unfortunate we have hate crimes in the city but it’s good because it shows people have enough faith to come forward,” Cnst. Lynn MacDonald of the Diversities Unit told reporters.
“Calgary is a big city but there is no reason other big city numbers shouldn’t be around the same,” she added.
MacDonald also said the national discrepancy could come from the fact that not all police services collect their information the same.
The report also showed that in Calgary most hate crimes were motivated by race or ethnicity, though MacDonald said a large number were against the gay and lesbian community.
A Muslim Association of Calgary administrator 30-year-old Salma Elkadiri told Metro the mosque often receives hateful messages, but overall she believes Calgarians are tolerant people.
“This is mostly some people who have anger but people in this city are very kind for the most part. The real Calgarians are very respectful,” she said.
