Edmontonians targeting others with hate will have themselves to blame, as they are set now to pay a $250 fine.
This is in accordance with Edmonton public places bylaw amended Wednesday to include harassment based on race, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation and other identifiers as behaviors resulting in a fine.
First time offenders would be punished with a $250 fine and repeated incidents would double that price.
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Approved unanimously by the Council’s community and public services committee, the bylaw would be sent for a final vote at the council meeting next Monday, CBC reported.
The National Council of Canadian Muslims welcomed the development, coming amid a spike of apparent hate-motivated anti-Muslim attacks in the city and surrounding areas.
“This is definitely a positive step forward. Do we need more? Yes. Is it enough? No. But it is a critical step forward,” Fatema Abdulla, a communications coordinator with the NCCM, said on Wednesday.
Abdulla added that the council has been working with Edmonton counterparts and keeping a close eye in the wake threats and assaults against Muslim women earlier this year.
Protecting Community
The new amendment was first suggested in April by Coun. Scott McKeen following a string of incidents in Edmonton where Muslim women were targets of public threats and assaults.
“We’re saying as a council, ‘That’s not our Edmonton,'” McKeen said during the meeting.
McKeen said the amended bylaw sets a standard and sends a message.
“Because our Edmonton would suggest that that’s not right or fair or proper that some Edmontonians face racial discrimination or discrimination based on faith, gender identity, sexual orientation.”
Edmonton Muslim women have been the victims of hate racist attacks in recent month. The latest incident at the end of June in St. Albert sent a woman to hospital.
Feeling the heat of anti-Muslim rhetoric, a local mosque in Edmonton announced a series of self-defense classes in August to empower Muslim women and give them a sense of safety.
These classes help fill an important need for Muslim women who may feel especially vulnerable in the current political and social climate.