Targeted communities unsurprised by rise in hate

Members of communities that are frequently targeted in hate-motivated incidents in Ottawa say they're not surprised to learn it's been happening more often. 

On Friday, Ottawa police said reported hate-motivated incidents in the city jumped by nearly 24 per cent in the first half of 2023 compared to the same period last year.

So far in 2023, the most frequent targets have been Jewish (36 incidents), LGBTQ (32 incidents) and Black (30 incidents), followed by Chinese (eight incidents) and Muslim (seven incidents), police said.

• Hate incidents jump nearly 24% in Ottawa, police say

The number of incidents against the LGBTQ community more than doubled from 14 in the first half of last year to 32 this year. 

Debbie Owusu-Akyeeah, executive director of the Canadian Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity, is at the intersection of the city's Black and LGBTQ communities. 

She said the numbers reflect both what she's hearing anecdotally, and national figures released by Statistics Canada. 

"It's just unfortunate to see that reality painted on the local side, and knowing that probably isn't saying the whole story, but it's still very much alarming," Owusu-Akyeeah said.

'Tip of the iceberg'

Members of the Black and LGBTQ communities in particular worry many hate-related incidents aren't reported because of a poor relationship with police. 

"I think what I'm more concerned about … is how many people didn't report," Owusu-Akyeeah said.

"How many people are undergoing particular levels of violence because of who they are, who are petrified and scared to go to the Ottawa Police Service to report what they've experienced, and are dealing with this alone?"

Fae Johnstone, president of Momentum Canada and a trans advocate in Ottawa, said the same is often true for the LGBTQ community.

"Every time that we have police reported data about marginalized communities, we know it's just the tip of the iceberg," Johnstone said. 

Ottawa police Chief Eric Stubbs acknowledged that the statistics only scratch the surface of the larger problem of hate in the community. He said it's important to him to improve trust with those communities so they feel comfortable approaching police. 

Reporting hate crimes 'exhausting'

Idan Scher, rabbi at Congregation Machzikei Hadas, said he believes there are unreported cases within the Jewish community as well — not necessarily because of a poor relationship with police, but because the onus is put on the victim to report hate crimes. 

"It's exhausting," he said. "It takes up time, it takes up energy when really we just want to get on with our lives."

He pointed to a number of antisemitic instances at schools that have been reported to the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, and he applauded the appointment of a Jewish equity coach to try to combat the hate. 

But he said more needs to be done within society at large to educate people and reduce the number of hate-related incidents in the city. 

Owusu-Akyeeah, Johnstone and Scher agreed the rise in hatred could be attributed to increasing polarization in society and an online environment that they believe emboldens people to lash out in the real world.