Federal Support Towards New Youth Initiative Tackling Online Hate

TORONTO, Oct. 20, 2020 /CNW/ - The Government of Canada is committed to taking action against online hate and preventing the promotion of racism and violence. Today, the Minister for Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, the Honourable Bill Blair, announced $759,762 to YWCA Canada for their project Block Hate: Building Resilience against Online Hate Speech.

The four-year project will examine hate speech trends across Canada and work with experts to develop online tools and digital literacy training for young Canadians aged 14 to 30 across ten communities.

The YWCA will bring together partners from digital industry, civil society, government, and academia to better understand online hate in Canada, support those targeted by hate speech, inform technical solutions to online hate, hate crime, and radicalization to violence, and increase community resilience.

This project aims to strengthen the way people respond to online hate speech and create safer online spaces for young Canadians impacted by hate speech by providing best practices on how to respond.

This project is financed under the Community Resilience Fund, a key tool led by the Canada Centre for Community Engagement and Prevention of Violence to counter radicalization to violence.

Quote(s)

"The experience that Canadians have online should be free from hate and fear, and empowering young Canadians to speak out against online hate in a safe way is an important step. Working together, we can promote an online culture that fosters the respectful exchange of ideas and prevents racism, hate, and violence."

- The Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness

"Online hate speech and cyberviolence have no place in our society. Through our work on the ground in communities across Canada, we see how it threatens the health and well-being of the young people we serve every day. The Government of Canada's investments to address online hate speech will enable us to engage in innovative community-based participatory research and create tools to address hate, racism and violence. Thanks to this funding we will be able to build capacity and foster intersectoral partnerships to make digital spaces safer for all of us."

- Maya Roy, Chief Executive Officer, YWCA Canada

Quick Facts

• YWCA Canada is a leading voice for women, girls, Two-Spirit and gender diverse people, and works to advance gender equity by responding to urgent needs in communities through national advocacy and grassroots initiatives.
• The Canada Centre for Community Engagement and Prevention of Violence leads the Government of Canada's efforts to counter radicalization to violence. It directs the Community Resilience Fund, which supports partnerships and innovation in countering radicalization to violence in Canada.

Associated Links

• The Canada Centre for Community Engagement and Prevention of Violence
• YWCA Canada
• Block Hate: Building Resilience against Online Hate Speech

SOURCE Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada