Thank you very much.

Good morning, Mr. Chair, members of the committee and ladies and gentlemen.

Thank you for inviting me here to speak with you today.

I am Superintendent Kim Taplin, and as you know, I am the officer in charge of National Crime Prevention and Indigenous Policing Services.

The RCMP takes hate-motivated crimes and incidents very seriously and is committed to continuing to provide services that are focused on the safety of our communities.

Canadians are increasingly active online, with some using multiple communication devices and a wide variety of tools, such as instant messaging and various social media applications, which provide enormous benefits for Canadian society, but also present unintended opportunities to spread hatred.

A hate-motived crime, whether online or not, is any criminal offence motivated by the offender's hate, bias or prejudice towards a group or individual, based on colour, race, religion, national or ethnic origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression and mental or physical disability. This would include a physical attack against someone because of their disability or sexual orientation, or hate-motivated vandalism, such as hate graffiti at a religious institution.

A hate or bias incident may be motivated by the same factors as those of a hate-motivated crime, but does not reach the threshold of being a criminal offence. Such incidents may include name-calling or racial insults.

If not addressed, you've heard here today that both hate-motivated crimes and incidents can be a warning sign and even a catalyst for more serious violence in communities. They also have negative impacts on communities' well-being and safety.

The RCMP proactively works with communities to identify, prioritize and solve problems. This collaborative approach is based on the philosophy that prevention is a core responsibility of policing, where decisions are evidence-based and responses should be community-led, police-supported, sustainable and flexible.

The RCMP has several consultative committees through which communities' interests become reflected in our work, such as the commissioner’s advisory committee on visible minorities, the commissioner's national indigenous advisory committee and the national youth advisory committee. The RCMP also participates in external committees, such as Public Safety Canada's cross-cultural round table on security, and Canada's anti-racism strategy, led by the Department of Canadian Heritage.

Statistics Canada estimates that two out of three victims of hate-motivated crime do not report to police. The RCMP is focused on increasing the reporting by building trust with community members. The RCMP also has a national operational policy to assist investigators dealing with hate-motivated crimes and is committed to monitoring threats to public safety. This includes intelligence gathering and ongoing assessment, in collaboration with law enforcement partners, to determine the severity of the threat level posed by any particular actor or group.

To properly investigate incidents of online hate, law enforcement must be able to work as effectively in the digital world as in the physical. Rapid technological advancements continue to underlie the complexity of police investigations, including online hate.

It is important to note that investigating hate-motivated crimes falls under the mandate of the local police of jurisdiction. Furthermore, the RCMP has deemed it a priority to recruit qualified applicants from a wide range of backgrounds to better reflect the diverse population of Canada. The RCMP also ensures that all employment policies, practices and standards are fully inclusive and provide all Canadians with equal and fair opportunities within the spirit of employment equity policies and legislation.

In support of our collective effort to counter hate-motivated crimes and incidents, I encourage all communities to become educated on, and speak out against, hate; to enhance situational awareness of related issues in their communities; to practise emergency procedures; to be vigilant; and to contribute to community resilience. The RCMP has been part of these efforts in many communities across Canada, and will continue to reach out with professionalism and compassion to enhance trust with the communities we serve.

I would be happy to respond to any of your questions.

Thank you.

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