CHARLOTTETOWN, PEI: The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms announces that Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIPP) requests have been submitted to the Charlottetown Police Services (CPS) and the Canadian Race Relations Foundation. The requests follow CPS’s announcement of a new “proactive” approach to hate crime enforcement that risks chilling lawful expression by encouraging residents to file more hate speech complaints against one another.
The FOIPP requests follow public statements featured in a recent CBC report, in which CPS described hate crimes as under-reported and said they intend to increase enforcement through “proactive” policing, including education initiatives aimed at helping officers and the public understand what to report and how to report it.
Constitutional lawyer Glenn Blackett is seeking records that explain the basis for CPS’s claim that hate crimes are significantly under-reported, that such under-reporting is a problem, and why increased hate crime reporting is considered a “success.”
“The police seem to be trying to increase hate crime reporting. This means more Canadians being investigated, prosecuted, and convicted of hate crimes. This seriously chills free speech in Charlottetown,” he said.
“Plus, people will claim that increased hate reports are evidence of increased hate crimes, necessitating even more aggressive hate speech policing,” Mr. Blackett said.
The information requests also seek records relating to decision-making, communications, training materials, and due diligence associated with education providers involved in the program.
According to police statements in the CBC report, police intend to learn what minority members of the Charlottetown community consider hateful.
Lawyers are also seeking records from the Canadian Race Relations Foundation relating to its involvement in the education program, including correspondence, training materials, and records of education sessions delivered to police and community members.
The overarching concern is that government-funded initiatives designed to generate more hate crime reports will predictably lead to more investigations and charges, creating a chilling effect on lawful expression.
Document requests include hate crime reports received by CPS since January 1, 2023, the reasons for decisions not to lay charges, and records relating to the shift toward “proactive” enforcement, including communications referencing subjectivity and culturally driven interpretations of hateful conduct.
Additional information will be made available once the appropriate records have been reviewed.
