Canadian Race Relations Foundation: CRRF and Western Law release Hate Indicators: A Canadian Hate Crimes Case Law Research Tool

Canadian Race Relations Foundation

CRRF and Western Law release Hate Indicators: A Canadian Hate Crimes Case Law Research Tool

Wednesday 27 November 2024 03:38 PM UTC+00 | Tags: announcements

The Canadian Race Relations Foundation (CRRF), in partnership with Western University's Faculty of Law, is pleased to release Hate Indicators: A Canadian Hate Crime Case Law Research Tool . The tool is designed to provide user-friendly research support to prosecutors and others who work on hate crimes to help them effectively and efficiently find relevant case law.

The CRRF has heard from hate crime experts, hate crime prosecutors and impacted communities of systemic challenges and gaps in addressing hate in Canada. We know hate crimes are going up and access to justice requires continued investment in tools to support the legal process of hate crimes. The CRRF is investing to make research and knowledge more accessible to legal professionals.

– Mohammed Hashim, CEO, Canadian Race Relations Foundation

Developed by a team led by Western Law's Assistant Dean (Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Decolonization), Sunil Gurmukh, Hate Indicators: A Canadian Hate Crimes Case Law Research Tool features insights and information from 116 cases decided across Canada from 2007 to 2023 where judges have considered subsection 718.2(a)(i) of the Criminal Code. Subsection 718.2(a)(i) requires a judge to consider an increased sentence if a crime was motivated by bias, prejudice or hate. 

There is a strong public interest in prosecuting hate crimes. We’re very excited to share this tool with prosecutors and save them time and effort.  It will help them quickly find case-law so they can provide advice to police on investigations, assess charges, identify and tender relevant evidence and craft sentencing submissions. It can also provide research support to defence counsel and inform training of Crown Prosecutors, defence counsel and police alike.

– Sunil Gurmukh, Assistant Dean, Faculty of Law, Western University

 The tool includes:   

  1. A case law chart, which provides an overview of the facts and summarizes information from each case   
  1. A list of 14 factors, or hate crime indicators that flow from the cases, to identify whether a crime may be motivated by bias, prejudice or hate    
  1. A factor chart to identify each case in which a factor appeared to have been considered by a judge  
  1. Copies of unreported decisions that we received from Crown prosecutors at the Ministry of the Attorney General in British Columbia and Ontario  

For more information on this new tool, along with video guidance on how to navigate and optimize its use, visit Hate Indicators: A Canadian Hate Crime Case Law Research Tool.  

For general inquiries, please reach out to: info@crrf-fcrr.ca 

Disclaimer: This is an informational resource and should not be considered as legal advice.  We cannot guarantee the legal accuracy or completeness of the information. Please exercise due diligence before relying on the information contained in this resource. Please note that the factors to identify whether a crime may be motivated by bias, prejudice or hate are not determinative and are not exhaustive.  In other words, a crime may not be a hate crime even if draft factors are present in a given case.

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