B.C. NDP urges action on fighting homophobia

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CBC News, July 26, 2010

The B.C. New Democrat Party is calling for new anti-homophobia initiatives at the provincial level.

Using the upcoming gay pride parade in Vancouver as a springboard, the Opposition party is calling for a province-wide tip line to report gay bashing and programs in all schools to discourage hatred against gays.

"B.C., as you may have heard with Statistics Canada, has been called the province with the highest level of hate attacks in Canada, specifically against gay and lesbian people," said Spencer Chandra Herbert, the NDP MLA for Vancouver-West End.

"So we're here to today to call for action from the provincial government to address this growing concern."

Herbert was referring to a recent Statistics Canada report that showed police reported 34 crimes based on a victim's sexual orientation in Vancouver in 2008.

NDP public safety critic Mike Farnworth pointed out the need for greater vigilance in the criminal justice system when it comes to hate crimes.

He said justice officials should make a stronger commitment to using existing hate crime legislation in gay-bashing prosecutions, and called for increased efforts in ensuring the victims of hate crimes are taken care of.

"Too often, victims in the court system and after a crime has occurred are sometimes forgotten," he said.

"We need to recognize in our victims programs that they need to be responsive to victims of hate crimes and homophobic attacks."

Chandra Herbert and Farnworth also suggested the Vancouver Police Department consider putting beat patrols in the West End, where there have been at least two suspected gay bashings in the past month.

The 2010 Vancouver Pride Parade begins at noon on Sunday, Aug. 1. It starts at the corner of Robson and Thurlow streets, and winds through the city's West End.

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