Toronto’s Chief of Police, Myron Demkiw, recently took to the stage to discuss the concerning rise in hate crimes within the city. During a Monday press conference, Demkiw revealed that reported hate crimes have witnessed an alarming increase of 93% compared to the same period last year. The Chief of Police has associated this unprecedented surge to the heightened violence against Palestine following the attacks in Israel on October 7. The Toronto police force confirms 203 hate crimes in total, streamlined through nearly 70 arrests and the imposition of 173 charges since these attacks.
In his statement, Demkiw elucidated that the latter months of December and January saw a dip in hate crimes, but the situation rapidly exacerbated in February, witnessing 84 reported cases this year alone. Of these, 56% have been categorized as anti-semitic incidents; however, the Chief of Police has also indicated an apprehensive underreporting surrounding Islamophobia in the records.
These troubling statistics are not making a debut in Demkiw’s report. Previously in November 2023, Demkiw unearthed his concerns about the rising Islamophobic and anti-semitic attacks during a press conference after the wake of the October 7 onslaughts and the consequential bombings of Gaza. Responding to these unsettling incidents, the Prime Ministers of Canada, New Zealand, and Australia issued a joint communique on February 14, urging an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.
This rise in local hate crime is mirrored in the international realm, as geo-political tensions continue to simmer. The US, in fact, vetoed all UN resolutions for a ceasefire in Gaza, further aggravating global relationships.
Toronto police have, therefore, amped up their law enforcement around Mosques during the Ramadan period to assuage local fears and ensure a month of peaceful worship.