"It is an act of vile antisemitism and a hate crime. Full stop. This is a disgusting display of Jew Hatred in our nation’s capital," Deborah Lyons said on social media.

VANCOUVER—One person was taken into custody over what Vancouver Police say is part of a hate-crime investigation.

“Authoring the now $75 million rural hospital tax credit as a state representative and then later partnering with Democrats as lieutenant governor to successfully pass hate crimes legislation has helped give me that rewarding perspective.”

Pearson initially believed that the matter was being treated as a non-crime hate incident (NCHI) rather than a criminal investigation.

She added that strengthening social cohesion in the face of rising hate crimes will also be a focus. “I will have more to say about my priorities as commissioner in the coming weeks,” she said.

Legislative Shifts: Bill C-9 and the 'Religious Defence' While these battles play out in the courts, the federal government is pursuing legislative changes that would alter the Criminal Code of Canada when it comes hate crimes.

So that is why the hate crime unit is a big part of this investigation," Insp. Paul Krawczyk said. Anyone with information has been asked to contact police.

to all existing offences, adding the provision of “fear” that someone may commit a hate crime in the future, and increasing penalties for hate crimes.

The protesters say that the incident fits a pattern of hate crimes against Falun Gong practitioners directed by the local Chinese consulate.

Once a defendant is convicted of a crime, the Crown Prosecution Service can ask the court to increase the sentence if the crime has been flagged as a "hate crime."

This includes 56 anti-Semitic hate crimes reported (versus 18 during the same period last year [in 2022]), 20 anti-Muslim/Palestinian/Arab hate crimes reported (versus 2 during the same period last year),” the release said.

In Canada, hate crimes against the Jewish community have risen substantially since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war.

Saund said that witness testimony showed the defendants had mocked their victims and used anti-Semitic language, "making it plainly obvious that these attacks were hate crimes."

“While we are keeping an open mind as to the motive behind the incident and will continue to explore all avenues, we are treating this as a possible hate crime,” she added.

But, she said, “I do want to be clear that there is no question that this was a hateful act.” Mr. Murad echoed Ms. George’s language. “Whether or not this is a hate crime by the law, it was a hateful act. It’s one that we abhor,” he said.

is - a hate crime."

"It increases the penalties for hate crimes offences. It ensures offenders whose crimes are motivated by extremism have that factored into sentencing. "It creates a new offence for inciting hatred in order to intimidate or harass."

The legislation includes several Criminal Code of Canada amendments to better address and denounce hate crimes.

More than 60 percent of hate crimes are racially motivated, and about 15 percent are religious-based. For several years, crime in American cities has remained at crisis levels.

On March 10, the Labour government adopted a new non-statutory definition of anti-Muslim hostility as part of its "Social Cohesion” strategy, aimed at tackling hate crime and strengthening community relations.

Addressing Extremist Behaviour, Hate Crimes The amendments are being introduced amid heightened concerns over extremist activities and hate crimes in Victoria.

It would have broadened the definition of hate crimes, empowered the state to impose house arrest for future hate crimes, established a Digital Safety Commissioner to enforce social media regulations, and raised the maximum penalty for any offence found

A Double Standard on Hate Crime? Nationally, Christians have said they feel like the government practices a double standard when it comes to what it considers a hate crime and how it prosecutes those crimes. 

“Based on the information they obtain regarding the investigation they will charge appropriate charges whether that is a hate crime or not,” said Ms. Winn. FBI data show that hate crimes rose nationally by more than 47 percent from 2019 to 2022.

“This bill will ensure that the laws that currently apply to the aiding and abetting of hate crimes, when it comes to social media platforms ... they’ll be liable just like individual people will be,” Stern said at the Sept. 11 Senate floor hearing.

Montreal police say the case was initially given to the hate crimes squad but was later transferred to the unit that patrols the métro system.

New York City, home to 960,000 Jewish residents—the largest community outside Israel—reported that anti-Semitic acts made up 54 percent of all hate crimes in 2024 and 62 percent in 2025, according to the Mayor’s Office to Combat Anti-Semitism.

The ambassador urged Macron to strictly enforce hate-crime laws, prosecute anti-Semitic offenders to “the fullest extent,” and refrain from granting any legitimacy to Hamas and its allies.

Apparently, the defendants were under 20 years old at the time of the crime.

The Victorian government has promised to follow NSW's footsteps to crack down on hate crimes and grant police the power to veto protests after designated terror attacks.