Hate crimes on the rise
Race and ethnicity spur most crimes; incidents related to sexual orientation double
According to new Statistics Canada data, hate crimes reported to police increased by one-third in 2008. The Globe and Mail reports that incidents motivated by race, ethnicity and sexual orientation grew in that year. Police forces logged 1,036 hate crimes in 2008, up 35 per cent from 2007. Hate crimes motivated by religion increased by 53 per cent between 2007 and 2008 while those related to race or ethnicity grew by 15 per cent. But the biggest rise came in violence motivated by sexual orientation, which more than doubled and were the most violent in nature.
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