A hate-motivated email sent to a school in Kitchener is part of a nation-wide investigation. The Waterloo Regional Police Service said the email was sent to a Muslim Association of Canada (MAC) school on Sept. 21. Officers went to the school, conducted safety planning with school officials and offered support through Victim Services. “Right across Canada, Muslim communities, specifically Muslim schools, were targeted with a threat that was really disparaging and ultimately demeaning and threatening toward most of the communities,” Waterloo Regional Police Service Chief Mark Crowell said. The investigation was helmed by the Integrated National Security Enforcement Team led by the RCMP. “There were intelligence networks and policing partners coming together to really understand how specific the threat is, what measures need to be taken, is there an identified target?” Crowell explained. A statement from MAC said the email contained “explicit language targeting Muslim children, families and community members.” MAC told The Canadian Press that nine of its schools and a mosque received threatening emails last week, including facilities in Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec. MAC said there is no indication of a imminent or specific threat to any of its schools, but all threats are taken seriously. “The Canadian Muslim community is strong, resilient, and deeply rooted in this country and will not be threatened by hate,” the statement said. “This threat is not simply an attack on Muslims. It is an attack on the values that define Canada. It reflects a growing climate of Islamophobia and polarization that, left unchecked, threatens every community in the country and not just ours,” the statement continued. In July 2024, Statistics Canada reported a 94 per cent increase in police-reported hate crimes again Muslims compared to the year before. With files from The Canadian Press
