Rise in reported hate crimes in Alberta no surprise to many
'People who are frustrated at these things try to deflect it on minorities,' says Muslim council spokesperson
For people in Alberta who deal with hate crimes, the recent Statistics Canada report charting their rise was not surprising.
Police-reported hate crimes in Alberta rose from 139 in 2014 to 193 in 2015. That's a 39-per-cent increase within a year, the most pronounced jump of any province in Canada, according to StatsCan.
Aurangzeb Qureshi, spokesperson for the Alberta Muslim Public Affairs Council, says the group started its Islamaphobia hotline as a direct response to a 2015 incident in Cold Lake where a mosque had the words "Go Home" scrawled across its wall.
It was the second time in a little over a year that the mosque had been vandalized. In the first incident vandals left racist messages and broken windows.
Qureshi said he thinks one of the issues that led to the rise in reported hate crimes could be the economic decline and job losses around that time.
I think Canadians and Albertans generally are people who put peace before hate.- Aurangzeb Qureshi, Muslim group spokesperson
"Throughout history, we find [that] people who are frustrated at these things try to deflect it on minorities and target different religions," Qureshi said.
"People that don't look like them essentially and say they're the problem. That unfortunately might be happening in Alberta because [people] are disproportionately affected because of the oil price decline."
Qureshi said the majority of incidents of harassment the council hears about involve women who are targeted.
But despite the findings of Statistics Canada's report, he said the offenders represent a small proportion of Albertans.
"I think our multicultural fabric is strong. I think Canadians and Albertans generally are people who put peace before hate."
Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson called the rise in hate crimes in 2015 "double-edged."
"On one hand, I think more reporting is good," Iveson said.
"I think if that helps to track and hold accountable people who are contributing to hate speech with hate incidents or flat-out hate crimes, then I think reporting is good. That said, if there is more activity underlying it, that is concerning."