Posted May 5, 2023 7:41 am ET
Updated May 5, 2023 11:10 am ET
Minister for Citizenship and Multiculturalism Michael Ford is sworn in at the inauguration ceremony at Queen’s Park in Toronto June 24, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
Mosques, synagogues, temples and churches are among organizations eligible for a new grant announced by the Ontario government to counter what it describes as a “rise in hate incidents against religious and minority groups”.
“No Ontarian should live in fear of being attacked because of their background, love or worship,” Minister for Citizenship and Multiculturalism Michael Ford said at a news conference on Friday.
The investment of $25.5 million over two years will provide successful applicants with up to $10,000 in funding to protect their meeting spaces from hate-motivated incidents, the province said.
Religious organizations, LGTBQ2S+ groups and Indigenous organizations are all eligible and can choose to invest in building upgrades, lock upgrades, installing cameras and hiring short-term professional security personnel if they receive the grant.
Indigenous, Black, Muslim, Jewish and LGTBQ2S+ communities have been among the groups hardest hit by hate crimes in recent years, the province said in a press release after Friday’s announcement.
In fact, the province said there were more than 1,500 police-reported hate crimes in Ontario alone in 2021.
“Building on our other investments in fighting hate, the new Anti-Hate Security and Prevention Grant will help build stronger, safer and more inclusive communities and ensure everyone has a safe environment to practice their faith and culture and beliefs to express,” said Ford.
Funding on Friday follows the announcement of the Ontario Grant to Support Anti-Hate Safeguards for Religious and Cultural Organizations Grant back in 2021. At the time, $40 million in similar funding was earmarked for religious and cultural groups, 1,200 of which received grants before applications closed last August, the province said.
Applications for the new scholarship are scheduled to open in the summer.
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