Appreciation for the Expansion of the Ontario Anti-Hate Security and Prevention Grant
The $25 million increase in funding is a necessary step towards helping a large number of cultural and faith based organizations across the province to beef up their facilities’ security against possibly hateful actors and crimes.
We also appreciate that the commitment expands the list of eligible community organizations that can apply, and the kinds of security related items that can be expensed.
These are all critical steps toward a province that takes the protection of its marginalized communities seriously.
Canada has seen steady increases in police reported hate crimes in recent years. The number of these crimes against Muslims jumped 71% from 2020-21. This past Ramadan, as Muslims returned to their mosques en masse, we saw an increase in vehicular attacks toward mosques and congregants, among
other incidents.
To that effect, the Anti-Hate Security and Prevention Grant is a big step in the right direction.