In November 2021 the league noted the “surge” in attacks against churches followed initial reports starting in May 2021 of possible unmarked graves on the property of former residential schools for indigenous Canadians, which were run by Catholic and Protestant entities under the supervision of the federal government. “Our politicians must speak out against this alarming trend and law enforcement officials must vigorously investigate all incidents of hate crimes against Catholics and charge those responsible,” the organization said. The league says that the period of May through August of 2021 saw more attacks on Catholic churches in Canada than any other period. The Catholic Civil Rights League also collects reports of anti-Catholic crimes. Changes in reported hate crime figures could reflect an actual increase in crime, or also changes in reporting by the public due to factors including “heightened sensitivity after high-profile events.” 2 Canada Statistics report noted that crime figures are dependent on police reporting and only reflect incidents both reported to police and subsequently classified as hate crimes.
The 2019 General Social Survey on Canadians’ Safety indicated that only about 22% of perceived hate crimes were reported to police. It is unknown how many incidents were not reported to police or to the national statistics office. Reported crimes against Jews in 2021 totaled 487, while reported crimes against Muslims numbered 144. There were 43 total recorded hate crimes against Catholics in 2020, a number which jumped to 155 in 2021. Crimes targeting “other religions” increased by 60%. By comparison, from 2020 to 2021 crimes targeting Muslims increased by 71%, while crimes targeting Jews increased by 47%. The report’s figures for police-reported hate crimes by detailed motivation show the major increase in crimes targeting Catholics. 2, the office released a comprehensive report on police-reported crime in 2021. The number of incidents targeting Catholics increased more than 260% between 20, according to crime figures from Canada’s national statistical office, Canada Statistics. “Mainstream media has reported the overall 27 percent increase, but the most staggering of all increases, the 260% rise in anti-Catholic hate crimes, has been largely ignored.” “Undoubtedly, this increase can be attributed to attacks on Catholic churches in Canada in 2021 including the deliberate burning down of churches,” the Toronto-based Catholic Civil Rights League said Aug. Catholics in Canada suffered the largest spike in religion-based hate crimes last year, and government officials must take action in response, a watchdog group has said.
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