Thread by @CameronKroetsch

Thanks to @HCCI1 for flagging the 2022 Year End Report on Hate Crime in Hamilton, which is due to come to the police board at its meeting on Thursday. If we want a better city, and I know so many of us do, this can't continue to be our story. 🧵 #HamOnt

When Hamilton was dubbed the "hate capital of Canada", it was when we had reported hate crimes much closer to the 11-year average of 127 per year. This year, however, we're reporting hate crimes more than 35% higher than the average. Things are getting worse, not better.

After 11 years, we're not much farther ahead. In 2011, we had 180 incidents reported, and in 2022 we had 174. That's not much of a difference. And, to be honest, the dip we saw in 2020 and 2021 was likely due, in some part, to the height of the pandemic.

What does this tell us about where we're headed? What is our City prepared to do to lead in a way that ensures that Hamilton is safe for those most at risk - members of Black, Jewish, and 2SLGBTQIA+ communities?

While we're definitely seeing hate spread across the city, the highest concentration is in the lower city. What are we doing to ensure that communities are safe? How are we leading to get that message out, loud and clear?

As a member of the queer community, I'll continue to show up and speak out. As a member of Council I will be pushing for my colleagues to address this as part of our priority setting session next week. It's up to Council to confront this and turn things around.

For those who would like to look at the entire report, you can view it at drive.google.com/file/d/1d5V648….