NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 4, 2010
JUSTICE COMMUNITY SHARES LEGAL REMEDIES FOR
HATE AND BIAS CRIMES
Toronto, ON (February 4, 2010): Hate and bias crimes have been making headlines with alarming
frequency in recent years. In an effort to address the issue of hate crime from a legal stance,
members of Toronto’s justice community are holding a special conference at the Centre for the Legal
Profession at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law on February 4, 2010.
Combating Hatred in the 21st Century: Legal Remedies brings together members of the private
and public bars, judiciary from all three levels of court, academia, law enforcement, law students and
community leaders to collectively increase their knowledge of substantive laws and discuss practical
strategies and legal remedies to deal with hate and bias crimes.
While more than 250 attendees will benefit from the conference, the content will also be shared with a
broader audience. “A justice community that is better equipped to deal with the issues of hate and
bias crimes should also benefit our entire community. This has really been the driving force behind
Combating Hatred conferences since their inception in 2005,” explains Associate Chief Justice
Peter Griffiths, Honourary Conference Chair.
In addition to plenary sessions that focus on criminal and civil remedies to combat hate, interactive
workshops will give participants an opportunity to discuss current topics including Hate on the
Internet, Campus Issues, Sentencing for Hate Motivated Crime, and the role of Human Rights Laws.
“Fighting Hatred in Europe: A View from the Front Lines” will be presented by special guest, UK
Labour MP Denis MacShane. An outspoken expert on antisemitism, MacShane is the author of
several books, including Globalising Hatred: The New Antisemitism. He was recently Chairman of the
UK All-Party Parliamentary Inquiry into Antisemitism and also chairs the European Institute for the
Study of Contemporary Antisemitism, a British-based think-tank.
Justice Harry LaForme will moderate “Voices of Experience”, a rare opportunity to hear several
prominent Canadians share their personal encounters with discrimination and their strategies to
overcome hatred. The panel includes The Honourable Irwin Cotler (MP, Mount Royal, Québec),
Zubeda Vahed (Senior Policy Advisor, Ministry of Education), Rev. Dr. Brent Hawkes (Senior
Pastor, Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto), and The Honourable Zanana Akande (the first
Black woman to hold a cabinet position in Ontario).
In the spirit of the planning committee’s vision for the conference to benefit both the justice community
and the broader community, webcasts of all the sessions will be made available at
www.combatinghatred.com. The complete program and biographies for all speakers are also
available on the site.
– 30 –
For more information or to schedule interviews, please contact:
Correena Snook
416-327-6336
correena.snook@ontario.ca
OR
Karen Mock
416-433-0343 (cell) kmock@sympatico.ca
Background information on the current and previous Combating Hatred conferences is available at
www.combatinghatred.com