By Kelly Cryderman

CALGARY, ALBERTA – Calgary has the highest rate of hate crimes in the country — three times the national average — among Canada’s major cities, according to a new report from Statistics Canada.

Even though the methodology of the sweeping national study is now being questioned, the numbers of hate-motivated incidents ranging from property crimes to violent crimes is ringing alarm bells.

“Calgarians should be very concerned about the results of the survey,” said Chima Nkemdirim, a lawyer who sits as chairman of the Better Calgary Campaign, an urban issues advocacy group.

“It’s a kind of a warning sign that there’s a problem that we need to think about and figure out how to address it.”

The study, which surveyed police agencies covering 87 per cent of Canada’s population, found 892 hate-motivated crimes in 2006. Blacks were the most targeted racial group, and Jews were the most commonly targeted religious group. About one in 10 hate crimes was driven by the victim’s sexual orientation.

Those accused of perpetrating hate crimes were most likely to be young, especially those aged 12 to 17.

Country-wide, less than one per cent of all incidents reported to police in 2006 were hate crimes, at a rate of 3.1 incidents per 100,000 people.

But in Calgary, that rate was 9.1 incidents per 100,000. And while race or ethnicity of the victim was the most common reason behind hate crimes across the country, it was more often seen as a motivating factor in Calgary than other major cities.

However, the Calgary Police Service dismissed any suggestion that Calgary actually has higher prevalence of hate crimes.

Const. Lynn MacDonald of the diversity resources unit said the documented rates are higher here because city residents trust in city police and feel comfortable reporting such crimes.

“We want more people to come forward,” MacDonald told a press conference.”If it means that our numbers are going to show higher than somebody else’s, so be it. We can’t dictate to other (police agencies) how they’re to report their hate crimes.”

She said Calgary may record hate crimes differently than other cities. “If someone was to spray-paint 10 different swastikas on 10 different garages, we would report those as 10 incidents with 10 victims,” MacDonald said. “Other services might not necessarily do that.”

The Statistics Canada study does come with a caution on the data presented. “One factor that can affect local rates of hate crime is the internal protocols of individual police services,” the report said.

Some police services put particular emphasis on hate crimes with specialized units, hotlines, awareness campaigns and victim assistance programs. “Consequently, what may appear to be high rates of hate crime in certain areas may be a reflection of better reporting practices,” the report said.

The report noted there were no hate crimes at all in cities such as Saguenay, Que., St. Catharines-Niagara, Ont. and Saskatoon.

At the Saskatoon Police Service, public affairs manager Alyson Edwards said her organization took a second look at its 2006 data at the request of Statistics Canada. Even after the review, no hate crimes were found. “It has not been an issue in Saskatoon like it has in some other centres.”

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