In A Year Full Of Losses, We Reflect On The Wins

As we look back on 2020 -- and toward 2021 -- we reflect on our wins, and the work we have left to do.

Canadian Anti-Hate Network

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This year, we published valuable exposés focusing on the public interest, laying bare some of the worst actors in the hate ecosystem in Canada.

Your generous support kept us afloat. Midway through the year a gift from BMO and a grant from the Anti-Racism Action Plan allowed us to grow our team and create educational materials and workshops.

We welcomed Anti-Racist Canada founder Kurt Phillips to our board, along with Nigel Barriffe of Urban Alliance on Race Relations and Sue Gardner.

Thanks to our ongoing work to expose hate group members in the Canadian Armed Forces, and advocacy on the topic, this year the Forces consulted with us and announced a number of new anti-hate policies.

These are just some of this year’s victories -- wins that would be impossible without your support. Now, we move into the new year to carry on our work, and strive to help create a more equitable Canada.

What do we mean to accomplish in 2021?

Our educational initiative -- workshops designed for students and faculty to help identify and prevent radicalization while growing resiliency and empowerment for students to play an important part in combating hate in their schools -- is set to launch in February.

Canadian Heritage has announced another grant, which we are applying for. If we get it, it will help us realize exciting projects next year.

We’re building coalitions and consulting with the government on their legislative plan to deal with online hate -- and fighting to bring back s. 13 so that communities can access a legal tool to hold criminal hatemongers accountable.

As always, we will continue to bring important public interest journalism to you throughout the year. While we expand, we’ll always keep sight on our mandate of countering and reporting on the worst in Canada’s hate movements.

In that spirit, we want to express our gratitude to just some of the many people who make this work possible -- the researchers, activists, writers, and others -- who enrich our field and better our world.

The 2020 COVID-19 information machine would have been near impossible to navigate without the work of @nolifeneet and Neet Newz.
The voice of @AgentNDN has been invaluable in a year fraught with conflict for the Indigenous communities, from the Mi'kmaq fishing dispute in Nova Scotia, to the Wetʼsuwetʼen land defense efforts nation-wide.
Work from Montréal Antifasciste exposing the neo-Nazi group Atalante, and the definitive piece on Gabriel Sohier Chaput, aka Zeiger, are among some of the best written investigative pieces in anti-racist journalism in Canada.
Dan Collen has produced outstanding journalism on hate promoting individuals this year -- including an article for us -- and we’re excited to see what he covers next.
UBC’s Students Against Bigotry continues to work to make the University of British Columbia a more equitable environment by exposing hate promoting groups and people who attempt to organize there.
Edmonton Against Fascism has continued to provide exceptional insights into the inner workings of Alberta hate groups.
Digital extremist researcher and QAnon expert Marc-André Argentino is an invaluable resource for understanding the constantly evolving Q-ideology at a time when it’s never been more relevant.
@YYCAntiracist, the Calgary-based collective which exposes hate groups, is a fantastic resource.
Anti-Racist Canada, founded by now board-member Kurt Phillips, monitored hate groups for 14 years before putting that particular project on pause. The work continues.
Yellow Vests Canada Exposed (which had taken over ARC) was impactful in monitoring and reporting on hate groups across Canada. The collective concluded this November, but all members continue to work in this space in various ways.

This is just a small number of the incredible people who put in their time and labour every day. This work can’t be done in a silo, and community is necessary. Thanks to everyone who shares this space with us.

Finally, none of our work would be possible without our readers. Getting the word out about our stories, taking action in your communities, and sharing the message about hate spreaders is one of the most valuable partnerships we have.

Thank you for the continued support.

Happy New Year from all of us at the Canadian Anti-Hate Network.