Sudbury, Ont., police receive a dozen calls about man wearing swastika
CTV
With the number of hate crimes on the rise, a man has been seen walking around Greater Sudbury, Ont., wearing a swastika, but is it illegal?
With the number of hate crimes on the rise, a man has been seen walking around Greater Sudbury, Ont., wearing a swastika, but is it illegal?
Since Jan. 1, Sudbury police have received 12 calls about a man in the community wearing the antisemitic symbol, but the act itself is not against the law.
"These are documented as a hate/bias-motivated incident, which is a non-criminal incident that involves the same characteristics as hate/bias crimes but does not meet the criteria to be classified as criminal under the Criminal Code of Canada," Sudbury police spokesperson Kaitlyn Dunn told CTVNewsNorthernOntario.ca in an email.
"This includes but is not limited to racial comments or slurs, intimidation or discrimination and distribution of prejudicial material."
Most recently, a man wearing a swastika armband was seen walking on Burton Avenue in the Donovan area of the city Wednesday morning.
"Hate or bias-motivated crimes and incidents have an impact extending far beyond the physical and emotional trauma to the individual(s) involved. Communities can also be affected," Dunn said.
