Province expands grant for religious organizations to help battle hate crime

Religious organizations that have improved their security can be reimbursed as part of an expanded Alberta grant program.

Justice Minister Tyler Shandro said Wednesday the province continues to see evidence the measures are needed, pointing to threatening packages sent to Edmonton mosques last month.

“This is unacceptable and it has no place in our province. We must take action against bigotry and racial violence,” said Shandro.

Since the program was announced last June, it's provided $1.2 million to more than 100 organizations, but the government hopes the changes will open the door for more organizations to get funding.

The revamped $5-million Security Infrastructure Program will allow organizations targeted by hate or bias-motivated crimes to apply for previous expenses paid since June 1, 2021, up to $10,000.

Places of worship like mosques, synagogues, and churches can apply for up to $10,000 for security risk assessments, and up to $35,000 for professional security risk management plans, which includes equipment installation and training.

Andrea Szabo, chair of the pastoral council at St. Josaphat Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral, said at the government news conference vandalism has always been an issue for the cathedral.

“Current world events have escalated it to a new level. Instances of aggression and hate impede our ability to be a welcoming and safe pillar of our community,” said Szabo, adding the cathedral has used the funding from the program to make security upgrades.

Shandro said his department is committing extra staff to help guide organizations through the application process but didn't commit to a specific timeline for processing and approvals.

Last year, the government announced the creation of a hatecrime co-ordination unit to help investigate, enforce and prosecute hate-motivated incidents, a unit that has since been fully staffed, along with a hate crime community liaison, which the government is working on hiring.

The initiatives were guided by recommendations in a June 2021 report from the Alberta Anti-racism Advisory Council.

However, the government has yet to fully respond to or act on many of the 48 recommendations from the council.

Joseph Dow, Shandro's press secretary, said in a statement to Postmedia the government is still evaluating all of the recommendations alongside suggestions from other community groups.

Opposition NDP justice critic Irfan Sabir noted in a statement the government hasn't fully addressed specific steps outlined in the report, including collecting race-based data across government departments — something the NDP tried in vain to propose in legislation.

“Providing security for places of worship is a necessary step, but it doesn't address the root causes of racism or the rising number of hate-motivated attacks that are happening in our streets and our communities,” said Sabir.