ALCCA Chair Joins New Special Purpose Canada-Wide Policing Committee to Address Enforcement of Hate Crime Laws; Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police Reiterates Support for Bill C-9
- ALCCA Staff
- 6 days ago
- 2 min read
Canada’s Chiefs of Police announced this week that they have established, effective immediately, a Special Purpose Committee on Hate-Motivated Crimes, which will include ALCCA Chair Mark Sandler as an expert and trainer in the use of criminal law and related measures to combat hate-motivated crimes and antisemitism. The Committee is mandated to promote and operationalize the consistent and robust enforcement of Canada’s criminal law and related measures addressing hate-motivated conduct, with a particular emphasis on antisemitic crimes.
The Committee’s objectives include:
identifying and promoting a comprehensive understanding within the law enforcement community of existing Canadian criminal law and related measures available to combat hate-motivated crimes, including antisemitic crimes;
evaluating the use and enforcement of such existing measures and identifying barriers to the consistent enforcement and prosecution of hate-motivated crimes in Canada; and
supporting legislative reform to enhance existing criminal law measures to combat hate crimes.
Although the Committee will focus on robust, consistent law enforcement across the country, it will also address how law enforcement and prosecutors can most effectively coordinate and build mutual understanding in combatting hate-motivated crimes, including through consultation with respected national representatives of targeted communities.
In addition to establishing the Special Purpose Committee, Canada’s Chiefs of Police publicly reiterated and amplified their strong support for Bill C-9, the Combatting Hate Act, with several amendments to clarify and strengthen the legal tools available to law enforcement and prosecutors to combat hate.
They urge all Parliamentarians to work collaboratively to ensure that this legislation is enacted as soon as possible. The Chiefs also strongly endorse an addition to Bill C-9 to create a new offence of wilful promotion of terrorist groups or terrorist activities, to address a significant deficiency in the law.
As ALCCA has previously outlined, ALCCA’s Chair has promoted the creation of this offence in testimony before the House of Commons Justice Committee, a position now supported by more than 34 community organizations.
ALCCA will continue to share updates as this important work progresses, including developments related to Bill C-9, and has compiled a dedicated Bill C-9 resource hub outlining the proposed measures and their implications. Access the resource hub.