Hamilton City Council recently passed a new “Hate and Violence Prevention and Response” plan recommended by the city’s Healthy and Safe Communities Department staff.
The report, prepared by Community Strategies Manager Rachelle Ihekwoaba and Senior Project Manager Mohammad Al Khateb, recommended that Council direct Healthy and Safe Communities Department staff “to lead internal coordination of the city’s hate and violence prevention and response efforts.”
The report also recommended the allocation of $50,000 in 2026 “to support public education, awareness, and prevention initiatives addressing hate in Hamilton, with funding directed toward communities most impacted by hate, including Black, Jewish, Muslim, and 2SLGBTQIA+ communities.”
Council approved all of the staff recommendations in a unanimous vote.
The funds will come from the Early Years System Reserve, and, if necessary, from a reserve provided by the General Manager of Finance and Corporate Services.
Staff will also be submitting a Business Case to fund the $50,000 on an ongoing basis through the 2027 operating budget process.
The department notes that work with Indigenous communities “is being advanced separately” through the City of Hamilton’s Indigenous Relations Division to “avoid duplication.”
In addition to the funding, staff were also directed to develop a “clear communications approach outlining the city’s role, available supports for residents, prevention investments for targeted communities, and access to reporting mechanisms.”
Staff will also be working on implementing “trauma-informed and bystander response training,” which will be informed by the City of Hamilton’s existing Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) training.
The report also directs the Healthy and Safety Communities Department to integrate “hate-related indicators” into the Community Safety and Well-being data dashboard and to report progress through regular updates.
The report also authorizes the General Manager of the Healthy and Safe Communities Department, Grace Mater, to negotiate, enter into, and execute all funding agreements.
The new plan and funding come after “hate” was identified as a “major community safety risk” in the city’s 2025-2029 Community Safety and Well-being Plan.
The latest data from Hamilton Police Service, released in July 2025, shows that there were 297 “hate/bias incidents and criminal offences in 2024,” which is a 34 per cent increase from 2023.
In June 2024, Hamilton Police launched the Hate Crime Case Review Team (HCCRT), “a collaborative, community-driven initiative to improve accountability and transparency in hate crime investigations.”
The plan also comes after multiple protests by a group called Nationalist-13 in Hamilton.
The group protested at Gore Park in November 2025 and outside Hamilton City Hall in February 2026.
They were pictured performing Nazi salutes. Banners held by the group read, “mass deportations now” and “white men, fight back.”
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