Saskatoon is trending lower than the national average when it comes to police-reported hate crimes according to a Statistics Canada report released Tuesday.
Researchers found that in 2015 there were 2.3 reported hate crimes per 100,000 people in Saskatoon. The national average in that year was a rate of 3.8 per 100,000.
READ MORE: Regina marks lowest numbers of hate crimes in Canada
Saskatoon Police Service spokesperson Kelsie Fraser said the statistics equate to seven reported incidents in 2015. She added that there were only two reported hate crimes in 2016.
Fraser noted that a hate crime can be anything from “violent crimes to graffiti scribbled on a garage.” She stressed that anyone in Saskatoon who ever feels victimized shouldn’t hesitate to contact police.
“If people feel that they’re in danger or their safety is threatened or something doesn’t sit right, it’s a little suspicious, by all means we encourage them to come down and report,” Fraser said.
“We would rather know about it and have some documentation that this behaviour is ongoing.”
READ MORE: Hate crimes against Muslims in Canada increase 253% over four years
Across Canada hate crimes rose by five per cent in 2015 according to the report. A large part of the increase was due to a 61 per cent increase in incidents targeting Muslims.
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However Mubarik Syed, a member of Saskatoon’s Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at community who has lived in the city since 2010, said his experience isn’t represented in that increase.
“My family is here, I bought a house here and we’re very happy here, things are very well,” Syed said.
“People of Saskatoon and Saskatchewan on the whole, they’ve been very welcoming, very loving and accommodating and inclusive.”
READ MORE: Alberta and Edmonton see highest rise in reported hate crimes in Canada
Syed did admit that members of his community sometimes experience hostile comments or acts, however he believes the incidents are borne out of ignorance.
“We want to make sure that the peaceful and loving message of the religion of Islam is out there and people understand it,” Syed said.
“I think it’s our responsibility as Muslims that we go out there and try to reach out to communities and non-Muslims and others and to tell them and teach them what Islam is all about.”
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