| Hate lessons from the West Quebec may get a lesson in hate crime prosecution from Alberta, of all places. Last Friday, the Centre for Research Action on Race Relations (CRARR) filed a notice of appeal to reverse the Quebec Superior Court’s decision to not consider the organization a victim of noted anglo-baiter Raymond Villeneuve’s criminal harassment of Alliance Quebec president Brent Tyler. Villeneuve pled guilty to the charge and to a further charge of inciting others to do the same. CRARR executive director Fo Niemi says he’s unhappy with Villeneuve’s pleading because it does not take into account the impact the convicted terrorist’s actions had on the anglophone community. He points to a recent decision in Alberta, in which a children’s rights organization was allowed to make a victim impact statement in a child pornography case at the sentencing hearing. Niemi believes that the victim impact statement would show that Villeneuve’s acts constituted a hate crime, and that he should be given a stiffer sentence as a result. “The Crown recommended two years suspended sentence and probation,” Niemi says. “It’s a hate crime, but it’s not being treated as such. “There’s a section in the Criminal Code that says when a crime is committed [with hate motives], it should be considered an aggravating factor in sentencing,” he continues. “So we see this section is not being enforced or considered seriously by the Crown.” Niemi vows
to bring his case to the Supreme Court of Canada if necessary. : |