For the announcement of funding to assist communities targeted by hate-motivated crime through a Security Infrastructure Pilot Program

Remarks by the
Honourable Stockwell Day
Minister of Public Safety

Thornhill, Ontario
29 February 2008
As Delivered

Thank you Barry [Barry Barnes, member of the Board of Governors of Shaar Shalom Synagogue]. 

Canada is an amazing country built upon principles of which we can all be so proud – principles that recognize the worth and dignity of every human being, and  the freedom for people to pursue what matters most to them: their values, their cultures, their religious beliefs, and their economic pursuits.  Canada is truly seen in the world as a beacon, by being a nation that has not only stood for these values at home but has also tried to echo them around the world.
 
Like in any country in the world, there are also those who don't appreciate these values.  There are those who are driven to do abominable and outrageous things. They commit crimes that are driven by hatred and prejudice. 

That is why we have laws in place. They are a response to some of the threats and challenges that are faced by a number of communities in our country. Additionally, a number of those communities, including the Jewish community, have come to governments over the years and asked if something could be developed in a practical way to help enhance security at the very places we go as citizens to associate with our community groups, our religious groups.

Consequently, last year we developed a two year pilot program through which the federal government will assist those community centres, places of worship, and places of education that have bona fide concerns related to their own security.  We were very excited to bring forward this brand new $3 million Security Infrastructure Pilot Program.
 
The program allows community centres and places of worship and education to improve security measures and enhance their own sense of safety. These improvements would be a deterrent to hate motivated criminals.

I'm very pleased to announce today that $216,000 in funding has been approved for nine projects in the Jewish community.  We have also approved a project in the Muslim community and one in the Sikh community in Surrey, British Columbia. 

I make these announcements with mixed feelings.  First of all, I am proud that as a government we've been able to do this.  Secondly, I feel the apprehension that comes with having to do it.  But we want communities to have a sense of security and we are taking take steps to make sure they have protection.

I know what it's like to visit at a Jewish community centre where heart-breaking and outrageous things are written on the walls and doors, where windows are broken, and even worse, where fires have taken place.  These are the realities that grip our hearts.  It was not long ago in Montreal when I visited a Muslim school the day after all of its first floor windows had been smashed. I was moved by the looks on the students' faces.

Kids don't understand this. They ask themselves: Why would somebody do this?  Why would somebody be so filled with anger and hate?  And students have to carry that as they think about going to school the next day. The teachers think about this when going to their schools or their places of worship, and we as parents face the same questions.  These are some of the realities that grip us in our quiet moments and late at night.

This is why we want to have surveillance cameras installed, if that's what it's going to take.  Again, we want to give that message, that as a federal government, we will step up and assist on a cost shared basis these various institutions. This way good things can continue to happen at these institutions, schools, community centres, places of worship – places that individually enhance, strengthen and broaden the human spirit.

I want to thank each and every one of you who has had a part in this. There have been quite a number of applications coming in as we continue to fine tune the pilot program. Public servants who are working on these applications have been in touch with not just those who were awarded the dollars they were hoping for but also the ones who were not;  we want to get them back into the re-application process.

It's a two year program and this particular round ends on April 15, 2008, so we want to see this move ahead as rapidly as it can.  Congratulations again and thank you for letting us play a part in making your community feel more secure.

 Thanks again everybody, and thanks for being part of building a stronger Canada.