According to a CBC Windsor article, hateful vandalism on the office windows of Windsor's WE Trans Support agency has left staff feeling "disheartened," but serves as a reminder to them that there's more work to be done to encourage a change of heart in the region.
Professor Moon called the action "awful and disgusting," adding that he's unsure that Windsor-Essex is any different from other places when it comes to hate speech, but that there has been an increase in this behaviour in general, specifically over the course of the pandemic.
"The main factors that have perhaps led to an increase in these sorts of incidents, acts are really social media in which it's much easier for hateful views to circulate and for individuals to encourage each other, embolden each other to engage in acts like this or generally just hold hateful views," said Professor Moon.
He added that this may also be the result of certain political figures, who have expressed views that encourage these sorts of thoughts in others. Unfortunately, charging someone in an offence like this is difficult, mainly because the incident happened "anonymously." Even then, if police were to have a suspect, "criminal prosecution for hate speech is not an easy thing."
He continued: "It's a cumbersome process and conviction is not always straightforward. It seems to me that obviously the symbols and language used here ... [have] a pretty clear meaning to most of us and I think there's no question that it should be and is regarded as a hateful symbol."
The perpetrator could face a property offence charge but since the words and symbols are hateful, the person would likely be charged for breaking a hate speech law under the criminal code. The hope is that prominent members of the community stand up and denounce the behaviour, encouraging conversation as to how to prevent similar situations from happening in the future.