Federal Ombudsperson for Victims of Crime Benjamin Roebuck speaks during a news conference, on Dec. 10, in Ottawa. The ombudsperson's study leaves out explicit discussion of the group that police say has become the most targeted in Canada for the last two years: Jewish Canadians.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
Numerous gaps in how the justice system responds to hate crimes must be addressed with more strategic investment to help police, and also legislative reform, a federal watchdog’s report concludes.
The Office of the Federal Ombudsperson for Victims of Crime released its latest report Tuesday, saying the under-resourcing of police hate crimes units, victims’ hesitancy to report crimes and failures in successfully prosecuting or deterring crimes create a system where victims feel left behind.
“The justice system fails survivors consistently. It validates hate and feelings of exclusion,” said Benjamin Roebuck, the victims’ ombudsperson.
The report discusses the impact of hate on Indigenous, Black, Asian and LGBTQ+ communities, and discusses gender-based hate as well as hate targeting people with disabilities, seniors, those of different economic classes and those who don’t have homes.
It also delves into the ripple effect from the murder of members of the Afzaal family. They were out for a walk in London, Ont., in 2021 when a man who had spent months reading and writing manifestos urging attacks against Muslims rammed them with his truck. Four of the family were killed, and the conviction of the assailant was the first time a white nationalist was labelled a terrorist under Canada’s anti-terrorism law.
The ombudsperson’s report noted more than 70 victim and community impact statements were entered into evidence, highlighting how far-reaching the impact of the crime was.
Mr. Roebuck situated the report, however, in the context of the current rise in hate crimes in Canada.
“Why now? Hate crimes reported to the police in Canada are at the highest levels that we’ve seen. Still, we know that most people affected already experience discrimination and do not report to police because of mistrust, fear; they don’t believe it will help, and they want to avoid further stigma on themselves and their communities,” he said at a news conference.
But, in the study’s detailed review of how hate affects different communities, it leaves out explicit discussion of the group that police say has become the most targeted in Canada for the last two years: Jewish Canadians.
Police-reported hate crimes rose 32 per cent in 2023 compared with 2022, an increase police agencies across the country link explicitly to the outbreak of war between Hamas and Israel in October, 2023. There were 900 crimes targeting Jews in Canada in 2023, compared with 527 the year before.
Data collected by Statistics Canada so far in 2024 show Jews remain the most targeted group this year. Black Canadians are the second-most targeted, followed by those targeted on the basis of their sexual orientation.
In the face of those statistics, a report about the experiences of hate crime victims that leaves out the Jewish experience in Canada is concerning and confusing, said Richard Robertson, director of research and advocacy for B’nai Brith Canada.
“It has the potential to embolden those who wish to suggest that the allegations of rising levels of hate crime are unfounded,” he said.
Mr. Roebuck said it was not an intentional omission.
“We don’t want the Jewish community in Canada to feel in any way missed by what we’re saying,” he said in an interview. “What we’re saying is we see that people are hurt by hate crime, and we need to take action, and that’s for everyone.”
He also cited the memorandums of understanding his office has with the offices of Deborah Lyons, the special envoy for combatting antisemitism, as well as Amira Elghawaby, the special representative for combatting Islamophobia, recognizing the need for their work to inform his.
Both MOUs are cited in the report, and both offices were invited to be part of the report’s release, he said.
“We know it’s a really difficult time, and so our messaging, we wanted it to come from the experts in those two areas.”
When asked for Ms. Lyons’s perspective, her office said it has no reason to believe there was an intentional omission but added that it was still concerning.
“It points to the need for a greater understanding of the extent and impact of antisemitism in Canada today,” the office said in a statement.
There are references to antisemitism in an appendix to the study, and a singular line about how Jews worried they couldn’t display Hanukkah menorahs after the Afzaal murders, over fear of another hate-motivated attack.
Mr. Robertson, whose organization’s work is cited in the appendix, called that paying a “token tribute” to the Jewish community, and the MOUs don’t suffice.