Oshawa hate crime expert Dr. Barbara Perry appointed to Order of Canada

An Oshawa-based hate crime researcher has been appointed to the Order of Canada for “advancing the field in academia, raising public awareness and supporting victims of violence and extremism.”

Dr. Barbara Perry is an Ontario Tech University professor and director of the school’s Centre on Hate, Bias and Extremism. The university describes her as a “recognized global authority on hate crime, and the primary national authority on right-wing extremism in Canada.”

The Centre works “to explore the ways in which hate, bias and extremism challenge values of inclusion and equity, along lines of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability and other relevant status characteristics, both singly and interactively,” according to the university.

Her research primarily targets Canadian right-wing extremists with a focus on Antisemitism, diversity in policing, homophobia, Islamophobia, and transphobia.

Her work has been shared through the OPP, the Toronto Police College, Ottawa Police, the Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences, the University of Albany, Oxford University, the University of Leicester, Nottingham-Trent University (the last three based in the United Kingdom) and the American Society of Criminology among many others.

Additionally, she’s advised Justice Canada, Public Safety Canada, the RCMP, the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, the human Rights Congress and various local social justice organizations.

In 2007, she was named Critical Criminologist of the Year by the American Society of Criminology for her book Advancing Critical Criminology with several authors. The book “provides scholars with an in-depth review of the extant literature on several major branches of criminology as well as examples of how critical criminologists apply their theoretical perspectives to substantive topics, such as drugs, interpersonal violence, and rural crime.”

She’s also written numerous other works including; In The Name of Hate (2001), Silent Victims: Hate Crimes Against Native Americans (2008), Hate and Bias Crime: A Reader (2012), and Right-Wing Extremism in Canada (2019).

Perry is also a founding advisor to the Canadian Anti-Hate Network, a self-described “proudly antifascist, anti-racist, independent nonprofit organization.” The Network “counters, monitors, and exposes hate-promoting movements, groups, and individuals in Canada using every reasonable, legal, and ethical tool at our disposal.”

Numerous journalists, community leaders, academics, and legal experts founded the Anti-Hate Network in 2018. The network focused their initial efforts on around 100 Canadian hate groups such as the Soldiers of Odin.

They’ve since worked against extreme elements in the Ottawa Convoy protests, several Neo-Nazi groups like Atomwaffen, Hindu nationalists, January 6 Capitol rioters and numerous smaller organizations as well as individual hate crimes.

In congratulating Perry on her appointment, Ontario Tech said the honour “highlights her extraordinary and sustained contributions to Canada and beyond.”

The Order of Canada is one of the nation’s highest civilian honours and recognizes “the outstanding merit or distinguished service of Canadians who make a major difference to Canada through lifelong contributions.”

The Governor General, currently Mary Simon, selects the Order’s appointees every year. Since its founding in 1967, the Order has added more than 8,300 Companions, Officers, and Members. Perry joins as a member alongside 87 other appointees.