Premier promises action on race-based crimes, following spike in anti-Asian attacks

Vancouver Police saw anti-Asian hate crimes jump by more than 700 percent in 2020. As Travis Prasad reports, it has Premier John Horgan promising to crack down on racism.

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – B.C.’s premier says the province will tackle the steep increase in race-based attacks in Metro Vancouver over the past year, with a focus on penalties and prevention.

John Horgan’s promise comes on the heels of the Vancouver Police Board hearing there was a stunning 717 per cent increase in anti-Asian hate crimes in 2020 compared to 2019. General hate crimes doubled in the same timeframe.

Vancouver police said last year that the spike in Asian hate crimes coincided with the increases in COVID-19 cases last March, but it’s unclear if the two are directly linked.

Related article: ‘Am I racist?’ campaign prompts British Columbians to examine internalized racism

Horgan says the Solicitor General is taking a clear message to law enforcement around B.C. to pull out all the stops and ensure race-based hate crimes are being charged as such.

“To reinforce the importance of prosecuting hate crimes,” he said. “We need to make sure that violence against people of colour is not just treated as violence but, in fact, hate crimes which carry much stiffer penalties.”

He admits those charges can be tougher to prosecute, “but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t follow through and make sure that people understand that in British Columbia, if you are going to turn against people because the colour of their skin, you are going to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

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Horgan also says anti-racism legislation is being written and will go before the House this year, adding the education ministry is working a component for classrooms.

He says we all have a role to play in fighting racism in our personal lives.

“In workplaces, at kitchen tables, at the arena — when we can gather together, we need to talk about the society we want. An inclusive society that does not tolerate hate speak,” he said.

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