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TORONTO – Unifor is critical of today’s announcement by the provincial government that claims to combat hate by funding security and clean up instead of prevention and systemic change.
“Fences and security cameras will not stop the hate that is rapidly swelling in communities across Ontario, the hate that this week, people in Ottawa are experiencing to an intense degree,” said Naureen Rizvi, Unifor Ontario Regional Director. “We need a comprehensive strategy that bravely faces racism and discrimination, not a recommendation to hide behind locked doors and clean up after the hate crimes occur.”
The union demands that the provincial government prioritize the speedy implementation of preventative measures to stop the spread of hateful extremism and white supremacy. Rizvi wrote to Premier Doug Ford in 2020 with clear recommendations to address and dismantle systemic racism in Ontario.
These recommendations include demands to focus on supporting the Anti-Racism Directorate and fully implementing the Anti-Racism Strategic Plan, eliminating racism in the education system, increasing access to justice, mental health supports, affordable housing, and bolstering employment standards for all.
“The targeting of Ontarians for hate crimes devastatingly includes religious and cultural spaces, but as we’ve witnessed in London, on Yonge Street in Toronto, and through countless other hate-motivated crimes, it follows us into the streets. This is not a plan that will keep Ontarians safe,” continued Rizvi.
The Ontario Grant to Support Anti-Hate Security Measures for Faith-Based and Cultural Organizations is a $25 million, attestation-based grant that will provide funds to faith-based and cultural organizations to increase safety and security measures.
By comparison, the province’s Anti-Racism Anti-Hate Grant Program received a total funding amount of $3.2 million.
“We know that hate, from discrimination to loss of life, can be stopped. There is a plan that we can apply to challenge and prevent hate crimes in Ontario, but solely focusing on security measure is not it,” said Christine Maclin, Unifor Director of Human Rights. “Ontarians need their government to properly fund a holistic approach to combatting hate instead of this seemingly singular focus on so called security that will not keep us safe.”
Unifor is Canada's largest union in the private sector, representing 315,000 workers in every major area of the economy. The union advocates for all working people and their rights, fights for equality and social justice in Canada and abroad, and strives to create progressive change for a better future.
