A/HRC/13/23/Add.2 75. Muslims and Arabs described a more hostile post-September 2001 environment in which they feel increasingly targeted by racism, Islamophobia and hatred. Muslim groups described increasing incidents of vandalism of mosques and Muslim schools, hate crimes against individual Muslims, negative portrayals of Islam in the media and anti-Muslim sentiments among the general public. They expressed the need for stronger protection measures and action against racism. In Quebec, a preliminary report on hate crimes is expected in 2010. 76. The Department of Justice implements key objectives of Canada’s Action Plan Against Racism, focusing on race-based issues in the justice system, interventions for victims and perpetrators of hate crimes, and countering Internet-based hate crimes. These constitute the Department’s strategy to sustain equality before the law. In 2007–2008 the Department supported initiatives to combat the proliferation of hate propaganda on the Internet, including a national stakeholders meeting which brought together participants from community organizations. 77. Violence within poor localities with high ethnic minority populations is a problem that minority representatives consider cannot be disassociated from poor educational outcomes, economic inequality, poverty and the relative lack of opportunities open to young people of colour. Gang-related and drug crime must consequently be addressed by social policy responses as well as policing initiatives. VI. Political participation of minorities 78. Research on political participation of minorities published in 2008 revealed that in 2004, just 7 per cent of members of the Canadian Parliament were visible minorities compared to a 15 per cent representation in the overall population. Despite rapid growth in the visible minority population, the seat share for visible minorities was virtually the same as that achieved in 1993. Across 11 cities, out of 552 elected officials at three levels of Government, the study revealed 48 visible minorities (9 per cent). 79. Minority representatives suggest that discrimination restricts their participation and that a “glass ceiling” in political structures stops people of colour progressing to senior posts. Political parties rarely select minority candidates. Other barriers exist in such factors as employment and economic status, poor outreach to minorities by political parties including via ethnic media, and lack of inclusive consultations with minorities in policymaking. 80. Muslims are the least likely of all faith communities to exercise the franchise and Muslim women have a lower propensity to vote than men. In Vancouver, Chinese community representatives discussed progress in their representation in localities with large Chinese communities. However, this is not matched by strong representation at provincial, territorial or national levels. 81. Barriers to political participation by minority women are particularly persistent. They include the heavy burden of care for families and cultural factors. In the 1997 and 2000 federal elections, there was only one Muslim female candidate running on the ticket of any major party. This number increased to four in 2004. In 2005, there were only two Muslim women serving in a provincial and territorial or federal legislature. 82. The Government highlights that various barriers may be impacting the civic and political integration of minorities, including: language, size and territorial concentration of a group, organizational density, sense of belonging and unfamiliarity with Canadian political culture. 18 GE.10-11860