Quebec police arrest teen for allegedly promoting ethnic hatred on Facebook

The Canadian Press
Jun. 17, 2010

SEPT-ILES, Que. - A Quebec teen is in trouble for allegedly inciting racial hatred through the social networking site Facebook.

Police said Tuesday the teen was arrested and charged with using his profile page to spread hatred against different minority ethnic groups.

The 17-year-old from northeastern Quebec faces two charges: one of uttering threats and one of inciting hatred on the Internet.

The boy is a minor, so his identity cannot be revealed.

Provincial police Sgt. Patrick Lowe said police began investigating in February after receiving a complaint from a citizen.

Lowe said police aren't sure if other charges would be forthcoming.

"I don't know for now. The investigation is still open," Lowe said.

According to Statistics Canada figures dating from 2006, Sept-Iles is about 94 per cent French-speaking and less than one per cent reported speaking a language other than French or English.

Less than two per cent of the population classified themselves as immigrants out of a population of just over 25,000 people.

Adult sentences on the two charges carry prison terms of two and five years respectively, but police say the juvenile sentences are shorter.

The arrest comes as Statistics Canada reported this week that hate crimes jumped by about 35 per cent across the country in 2008 compared to the previous year.

The agency did mention that the spike could simply be the result of better reporting by police across the country.