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Posted on 04/09/2004 10:48:52 AM PDT by Grig
OTTAWA - The federal government is finalizing a nation-wide plan to combat racism that asks law enforcement agencies to establish special hate-crime units and includes initiatives to educate Canadians about the dangers of hate, Justice Minister Irwin Cotler said yesterday.
The plan, which is at the final stage of Cabinet approval, was designed, in part, to fight growing anti-Semitism, such as the firebombing of a Jewish school in Montreal and racially motivated incidents against Jews and Muslims in Toronto.
The 10-chapter blueprint is expected to include advertising to promote anti-racism messages, measures to strengthen ethnic communities and new money for crime-prevention programs aimed at reducing racist acts.
"We will have a national action plan to counter racism and that, I think, in all its components, will be an effective and comprehensive approach," Mr. Cotler said in an interview. "It has a panoply of initiatives. It has an education component. It has a legal component and it has an inter-cultural dialogue component ... [because] we have to mobilize a constituency of conscience in this country."
Mr. Cotler said Canada already has strong hate-crime laws and effective federal and provincial human rights commissions to fight discrimination against minorities, but he noted it is "not always appreciated that we have one of the most comprehensive legal regimes anywhere in the world."
The government wants to reinforce the vast array of legal tools that are available to fight racism and to encourage the police to take effective action to eliminate it.
"We may not appreciate the panoply of legal remedies that we already have that can be put into place in matters of this kind," he said. "We may have to see if our law enforcement officers -- just as we have set up special units as particular types of crimes have emerged -- we may have do that kind of training with respect to hate crimes."
Mr. Cotler said the multi- million-dollar and multi-year plan against racism and bigotry will also have a particular emphasis on teaching Canadians about hate and will encourage community leaders to preach tolerance.
The Heritage Department is at the helm of the multi-department plan, which is expected to be unveiled in the coming weeks.
"It is all about social inclusion, building on a multi-cultural society," said Fred Sherman, spokesman for Jean Augustine, the department's minister responsible for multiculturalism.
"It's not going to be a flick-of-a-switch approach, it's going to be a comprehensive long-term approach to deal with the challenges that we face in building our society."
It is the first national anti-racism program that has been undertaken by the government and it is considered necessary in light of recent incidents across the country .
"It couldn't be more timely," Mr. Sherman said. "It's a Canadian reality and it has to be addressed.... There are so many different groups we're dealing with."
For instance, there has been a sharp rise in attacks against the Jewish community, including a firebomb this week at an elementary school in Montreal on the eve of the Passover holiday.
B'Nai Brith Canada reports there were 584 incidents of harassment, vandalism and violence against Jews last year, the most since the group started keeping statistics 21 years ago.
Jewish leaders from several organizations met last week with Prime Minister Paul Martin to push for federal action.
While a Liberal backbencher and law professor, Mr. Cotler wrote extensively about the need to speak out against racism and the resurgence of a new anti-Semitism.
Of particular concern to Mr. Cotler was systemic discrimination against Israel at the United Nations and other international bodies, where the Jewish state is singled out.
Mr. Cotler has said the promotion of hatred against Israel at the UN and by Arab states has led to a wave of anti-Semitism "without parallel since World War II."
Here you have the Liberals master plan. State enforced political correctness with brainwashing of children and prosecution of adults, all done under the guise of stopping racist acts. Yikes.
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...they could then arrest each other for displaying hate speach against simians.
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