The Burnaby RCMP’s annual report for 2021 is out and it says that reported hate crimes in the city dropped dramatically after a disturbing spike in 2020.
The report lists 12 hate crimes in Burnaby, with five assaults, four property crimes and three instances off uttering threats reported.
That is down from 37 hate crimes in Burnaby in 2020 which was up from 18 in 2019 and 16 in 2018. It should be noted that not all hate crimes are reported to police due to language barriers and many people not feeling comfortable calling police.
“From 2019 to 2020, Burnaby experienced a significant increase in hate crimes,” says the report. “In response, the Burnaby RCMP collaborated with local community groups, the City of Burnaby and the Burnaby Crime Prevention Unit to distribute hate crime awareness posters throughout the city. These posters, written in English, simplified Chinese, Punjabi and Korean, encouraged victims of hate crime to speak with the police. Consequently, we saw a dip in the number of reported hate crimes in 2021.”
The rise in hate crimes also led to the formation of the group Stand With Asians Coalition in Burnaby, which was recognized with an Intercultural Trust Award on March 21. The award recognizes outstanding work in building intercultural trust and understanding, and/or reducing racism and hate between communities.
“On behalf of our board and all our group members, I want to sincerely thank the B.C. government for selecting Stand With Asians Coalition as the recipient of the BC Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism award," said coalition co-founder Doris Mah in a news release.
“The Stand With Asians Coalition movement started just a year ago, in April 2021, around my kitchen table after I read that hate crime in Burnaby had increased by 350% since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Vancouver saw a 700% increase. A few of us came together quickly to form this coalition because we felt that something had to be done to tackle racism and discrimination.
“Many hours went into uniting cities across the country to proclaim May 10, 2021, as the Day of Action Against Anti-Asian Racism to highlight the urgent need to develop more effective policy initiatives and encourage systemic change to protect all Canadians.”
- With files from Jess Balzer
