Saskatoon woman charged with assault after hate crime unit investigation

A 32-year-old Saskatoon woman has been charged with what police say was a hateor bias motivated assaultafter an investigation by the Saskatoon Police Service's (SPS's) hate crime unit.

On May 2, a 23-year-old woman reported being confronted by an unknown other woman while at a library in the 200 block Avenue K South, police said.

The 32-year-old allegedly chased the younger woman while using racial slurs before herself fleeing the scene. The Saskatoon woman is now facing one count of assault.

SPShas created a specificweb page on the topic of hate crimes and added to its online reporting function.

The hate crime unit was created in January 2022.Police said section 718 of the Criminal Code of Canada allows for increased sentences to be considered where there is evidence that a crime was motivated by hate.