Yesterday a new Stats Canada report came out describing an increase in hate crimes being reported in Canada:
Police-reported hate crimes rise in Canada: StatsCan By Beatrice Fantoni, Postmedia News June 7, 2011 OTTAWA — Figures released Tuesday by Statistics Canada suggest the number of hate crimes reported to police is on the rise.
Instances of hate crimes increased by 42 per cent between 2008 and 2009, bringing the total to 1,473.
While hate crimes remain primarily motivated by race (and black Canadians remain the most-targeted by hate crime), the data also showed the number of reported hate crimes perpetrated against Arabs and West Asians doubled (to 75 from 37). There was also a 71 per cent increase in hate crimes committed against Jewish people.
Statistics Canada analyst Mia Dauvergne says two factors might have influenced the result: While there may have been a real increase in hate crimes, it is also possible that more crimes are being reported as police forces across Canada set up special hate-crimes units.
Len Rudner, the Ontario regional president of the Canadian Jewish Congress, said while the statistics could be a result of more reporting, "We have to acknowledge the fact that a lot of this is the result of an increase in criminal acts."
Rudner said he has noticed a pattern where flare-ups in the Middle East are linked to flare-ups in hate crimes against Jews. Late-2008 was one such time, he said, and so it could have influenced the 2009 statistics.
Rudner also acknowledged that reporting crimes varies between communities, since not all cultural or religious communities enjoy equal access to police and justice services. While the Jewish community enjoys a good relationship with police, other groups are not necessarily as well-represented on the hate-crimes radar, he said.
It is this lack of representation that partly explains the jump in reported hate crimes against Arabs and West Asians, said Khaled Mouammar, president of the Canadian Arab Federation. In addition, the Canadian government is fostering an environment of hostility toward Arabs and Muslims in Canada, he said.
"We are a very vulnerable community," Mouammar said. "We don't have resources, we don't have the numbers," he said. "Many people are silenced and try to avoid talking about issues to avoid being targeted."
Sohail Raza, president of the Muslim Canadian Congress, said the opposite was true.
"It's a two-way street," Raza said. "We have to get over the victim mentality. . . . Only then will (there) be less hate crimes," he said.
bfantoni@postmedia.com Twitter.com/bfantoni
© Copyright (c) Postmedia News
Of course there are those who dismiss these stats. Some have claimed that Muslims are responsible for the lion's share of the incidents, while others suggested that the whole thing is simply contrived by the government: [Image] Gee, if only there was some sort of recent, concrete example that we could use to prove that organized racists are a danger to he Canadian public. That would certainly be handy.
Oh, wait....: Murder suspect also facing sex assault charge By Daryl Slade, Calgary Herald June 7, 2011
CALGARY — One of two skinheads, who are believed to belong to a white supremacist group in Calgary, and will be in court today on second-degree murder charges, was in court on Tuesday to face charges related to a 2009 sexual assault.
Robert David Reitmeier, 24, is accused of sexual assault and unlawful confinement of a woman at a party in the city on April 29, 2009.
He also is charged with failing to comply with probation conditions.
Crown prosecutor Karuna Ramakrishnan, assigned to the sexual assault case, said following the appearance in provincial court that Reitmeier and the alleged victim did not know each other, but were “beyond casual acquaintances.”
The victim cannot be named because of a court-ordered ban.
Ramakrishnan said Reitmeier was not charged until April 29, when he was allegedly identified through a DNA match from the assault two years earlier.
Lawyer Nick D’Souza, who appeared in court for Reitmeier on Tuesday, said he has virtually no information on the 2009 charges as he has not yet received any Crown disclosure.
Reitmeier and Tyler William Sturrup, 26, suspected leaders of the WEB, or Western European Bloodline white pride group, were arrested May 31 in connection with the killing of Mark Mariani of Calgary in October 2010.
Mariani, a 47-year-old who was attacked by a group of men in an alley in the 1500 block of 16th Avenue N.W., was believed to have been in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Police investigators said although the two suspects are white supremacists, there’s no indication that affiliation had any connection to the crime.
Although police wouldn’t disclose a motive for the killing of Mariani, Staff Sgt. Doug Andrus of the homicide unit said last week it appeared unprovoked.
Police said Sturrup, 26, was arrested in Edmonton, and Reitmeier, 24, in Calgary last week.
The WEB is one of two known white supremacist groups in Calgary since the disbanding of the Aryan Guard.
dslade@calgaryherald.com © Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
And then there's this follow-up based on the court appearance today: Court forbids contact between two skinheads facing murder charges
Men charged with second-degree murder in death of Mark Mariani By Daryl Slade June 8, 2011 2:02 PM

CALGARY — A judge has prohibited two skinheads jointly facing second-degree murder charges from having any contact with each other, except through counsel of to further their legal proceedings.

Provincial court Judge William Cummings made the order at the request of Crown prosecutor Susan Karpa during the first appearances of Robert David Reitmeier and Tyler William Sturrup, 26, on Wednesday.

Both men, believed to belong to a white supremacist group in Calgary who appeared together by closed-circuit television, were charged last week in connection with the death of Mark Mariani last October.

The ban was not contested by either defence lawyer — Nick D’Souza for Reitmeier and Tonii Roulston for Sturrup.

Roulston told the judge she expects there will be “a large hard drive full of disclosure” provided by the Crown’s office, likely in time for the next appearance in docket court on June 29.

Until that is done, both lawyers agreed to the automatic detention of their clients. D’Souza said it will take some time to review disclosure once it has been received.

Reitmeier is also accused of sexual assault and unlawful confinement of a woman at a party in the city on April 29, 2009, as well as failing to comply with probation conditions.

Crown prosecutor Karuna Ramakrishnan, assigned to the sexual assault case, said following the man’s appearance in provincial court on Tuesday that Reitmeier and the alleged victim did not know each other but were “beyond casual acquaintances.”

The victim cannot be named because of a court-ordered ban.

Ramakrishnan said he was not charged until April 29 when he was allegedly identified through a DNA match from the assault just over two years prior.

Reitmeier and Sturrup, suspected leaders of the WEB, or Western European Bloodline white pride group. It is one of two known white supremacist groups in Calgary since the disbanding of the Aryan Guard.

They are charged with the death of Mariani, 47, who was attacked by a group of men in an alley in the 1500 block of 16th Avenue N.W.Police investigators said although the two suspects are white supremacists, there’s no indication that affiliation had any connection to the crime, which appears to have been unprovoked.

dslade@calgaryherald.com
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
There's a little more discussion on Stormfront about this case, though that thread has been closed down as well. However, before being closed, we found some interesting takes.
Though these do not represent all of the sentiments being expressed in the thread, some people believe that perhaps the frail victim had it coming:
[Image] Still others, without a hint of irony, have cautioned people about making judgments based solely on appearances:
[Image]
And finally, we have some who believe the whole thing may be a set up by the police and point to another Canadian case as an example:
[Image]
While our readers can likely figure out who, "Black Sonnen" is writing about, our new readers should know the individual, "victimized" by the police and the media is Kyle McKee who was initially charged with attempted murder on the IED attack on Tyler Sturrup (yep, the same Sturrup now charged in this crime) and while those charges were dropped due to insufficient evidence, McKee did plead guilty to weapons charges and possession of bomb making materials.
Isn't there an old saying that starts out, "with friends like these...."?