‘Enormous’ rise in reported hate crimes in Montreal since attack

MONTREAL — An “enormous number” of alleged hate crimes have been reported in Montreal in the wake of Sunday’s shooting massacre at a mosque in Quebec City, officials say.

On Wednesday, the head of Montreal’s anti-radicalization centre told the city’s executive committee that the centre had received 24 calls since Sunday, including 10 related to Islamophobia and four related to the extreme right.

Herman Deparice-Okomba said four of those cases had been transferred to police.

“It (24) is an enormous number in 72 hours,” he said.

Deparice-Okomba’s comments echoed those of Montreal police Chief Philippe Pichet, who told reporters the day prior that the force had also seen a spike in the number of reported hate crimes since the mosque attack.

The Montreal police department investigated 55 hate crimes against religions in 2016 compared with 24 in 2013. It created a special hatecrimes unit to probe such complaints last May.

In the latest incident, a 47-yearold man was being questioned by Montreal police Wednesday morning after being arrested earlier in the day on suspicion of uttering hate speech toward Muslims on social media.

The arrest took place at an address on Shediac Street in Kirkland sometime after midnight and followed information received from the Sûreté du Québec’s cyber surveillance unit.

On quiet Shediac Street, satellite trucks idled in front of the modest cottage identified as the home of the man arrested. Reporters roamed the street in search of comments from residents about the midnight arrest of their neighbour.

“I know he’s self-employed, so I feel sorry for his wife and children if he’s taken out of the workforce,” Stephen Ore said. Ore, who lives two doors away, saw the children picked up early in the morning around school time. “But ethnic nationalism has no place in Canada. My wife is half German and people have told her they wished she was dead.”

Ethnic nationalism has no place in Canada. My wife is half German and people have told her they wished she was dead.” Stephen Ore, neighbour of man accused of hate speech