Joelcool7 said:
I'd agree with that in most cases. But cases like burning a cross, is that really a crime? It becomes a crime because of how it is done. Same with drawing a Swastika on someones house. Its just a drawing right. Legally your just vandalizing. But it is used to intimidate and harrass and abuse citizens. Making it a hate crime. As far as Mr.Puggsly your right their are still alot of racist crimes commited in Canada. No countries perfect but our laws do protect those who are attacked. I know where I live Indo-Canadians always attack white guys, in turn white guys attack indo Canadians. Asians in Vancouver get attacked and attack in turn. But for the most part Canada is a country where people of all races and religions do live peacefully amongst each other. KKK is non-existant here and while their are some neo-Nazi's they are also dissapearing. It's not like the USA or many other countries. |
First off, burning a cross creates a significant risk of the fire spreading and burning down the house and it is a sign of harassment so it is a very serious crime.
Secondly, in sentencing a judge has leeway to determine whether a crime was "worse" than another crime and give an appropriate punishment. Why are hate-crime laws needed?
