Hellcat
Registered
Ethnic communities to be strengthened. Blueprint expected to include advertising, funding for new crime-prevention programs
ROBERT FIFE and JANICE TIBBETTS
CanWest News Service
Thursday, April 08, 2004
Justice Minister Irwin Cotler Cotler says federal plan will encourage community leaders to preach tolerance and resist political extremism.
A national action plan to combat racism will call on law-enforcement agencies to set up special hate-crime units and establish initiatives to educate Canadians about the evils of hate, Justice Minister Irwin Cotler said yesterday.
The plan, which is at the final stage of cabinet approval, was designe
, in part, to fight growing anti-Semitism such as the firebombing of the United Talmud Torahs school in St. Laurent school on Monday and racially motivated incidents against J*WS and Muslims in Toronto.
<br
The 10-chapter blueprint is expected to inclu
de advertising to get the message out that racism is poison, measures to strengthen ethnic communities, and an influx of new money into 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," Cotler said in an interview.
"It has 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."
Cotler said Canada already has strong hate-crime laws and effective federal and provincial human-rights commissions to fight discriminatio
n against minorities, but he noted it is "not always appreciated that we have one of the most comprehensive legal regimes anywhere in the world."
Ottawa wants to reinforce the vast
arra
y of legal
tools that are available to tackle racism and to encourage the police to take
effective action to stamp it out.
"We may not appreciate the legal remedies that we already have that can be put into place in matters of this kind," Cotler said.
"We may have to see if our law -enforcement officers - just as we have set up special units as particular types of crimes that have emerged - we may have do that kind of training with respect to hate crimes."
Cotler said the multimillion-dollar and multiyear action plan against racism and bigotry will also have a heavy emphasis on teaching Canadians about hate and to encourage community leaders to preach tolerance and resist political extremism.
The Heritage Department is at the helm of the multi-department schem
e, which is expected to be unveiled in the coming weeks.
"It is all about social inclusion, building on a multicultural society," said Fred Sherman, spokesperson for Jean Au
gustine,
the minister resp
onsible for multiculturalism.
"The whole issue of how we build this country is something we have to look at.
"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 undertaken by the government and is considered necessary in light of growing incidents across the country involving several groups, particularly Arabs and J*WS.
"It couldn't be more timely," Sherman said.
"(Racism) is 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 dramatic rise in attacks ag
ainst the Jewish community, including Monday's firebombing.
Jewish leaders from several organizations met last week with Prime Minister Paul Martin to push for federal act
ion.
The federal program is no
t expected to be a copy of one that is under way in France, where the government has told schools and colleges to screen films such as Schindler's List, Sophie's Choice and The Pi
anist, as part of a new government guide to sensitize French citizens in light of a growing anti-Semitism that is believed to be linked to the deteriorating situation in the Middle East.
http://www.canada.com/montreal/montrealgaz...06-4CF7F39E1541
ROBERT FIFE and JANICE TIBBETTS
CanWest News Service
Thursday, April 08, 2004
Justice Minister Irwin Cotler Cotler says federal plan will encourage community leaders to preach tolerance and resist political extremism.
A national action plan to combat racism will call on law-enforcement agencies to set up special hate-crime units and establish initiatives to educate Canadians about the evils of hate, Justice Minister Irwin Cotler said yesterday.
The plan, which is at the final stage of cabinet approval, was designe
, in part, to fight growing anti-Semitism such as the firebombing of the United Talmud Torahs school in St. Laurent school on Monday and racially motivated incidents against J*WS and Muslims in Toronto.
<br
The 10-chapter blueprint is expected to inclu
de advertising to get the message out that racism is poison, measures to strengthen ethnic communities, and an influx of new money into 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," Cotler said in an interview.
"It has 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."
Cotler said Canada already has strong hate-crime laws and effective federal and provincial human-rights commissions to fight discriminatio
n against minorities, but he noted it is "not always appreciated that we have one of the most comprehensive legal regimes anywhere in the world."
Ottawa wants to reinforce the vast
arra
y of legal
tools that are available to tackle racism and to encourage the police to take
effective action to stamp it out.
"We may not appreciate the legal remedies that we already have that can be put into place in matters of this kind," Cotler said.
"We may have to see if our law -enforcement officers - just as we have set up special units as particular types of crimes that have emerged - we may have do that kind of training with respect to hate crimes."
Cotler said the multimillion-dollar and multiyear action plan against racism and bigotry will also have a heavy emphasis on teaching Canadians about hate and to encourage community leaders to preach tolerance and resist political extremism.
The Heritage Department is at the helm of the multi-department schem
e, which is expected to be unveiled in the coming weeks.
"It is all about social inclusion, building on a multicultural society," said Fred Sherman, spokesperson for Jean Au
gustine,
the minister resp
onsible for multiculturalism.
"The whole issue of how we build this country is something we have to look at.
"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 undertaken by the government and is considered necessary in light of growing incidents across the country involving several groups, particularly Arabs and J*WS.
"It couldn't be more timely," Sherman said.
"(Racism) is 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 dramatic rise in attacks ag
ainst the Jewish community, including Monday's firebombing.
Jewish leaders from several organizations met last week with Prime Minister Paul Martin to push for federal act
ion.
The federal program is no
t expected to be a copy of one that is under way in France, where the government has told schools and colleges to screen films such as Schindler's List, Sophie's Choice and The Pi
anist, as part of a new government guide to sensitize French citizens in light of a growing anti-Semitism that is believed to be linked to the deteriorating situation in the Middle East.
http://www.canada.com/montreal/montrealgaz...06-4CF7F39E1541