Article by Rebel News staff.

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The Edmonton Police Service's campaign to report non-crime hate incidents went viral last week. But on Friday's episode of The Ezra Levant Show, Ezra noted that it isn't new, having launched almost exactly two years ago in 2024, complete with taxpayer-funded bus and LRT wraps, a partnership with Crimestoppers, and financial support from the government of Alberta.

The tweet that sparked the online backlash read: "You typed it. Someone lived it. Online hate isn't just a comment. It hurts real people and harms real communities." Ezra challenged that claim, arguing, "Hate is not a crime. Look it up in the Criminal Code. You can't be arrested for your feelings." 

The campaign also involved a partnership with the Anti-Defamation League through something called the Lighthouse Project — a technology platform scanning the internet for hate symbols and words. Ezra noted that the ADL has become a censorship organization, and that censorship does not stop hate in the internet era.

"They're searching, they're scouring the internet for word problems, for feeling problems," he said, "rather than real problems happening on the streets right now."

And those real problems are easy enough to find.

In a shocking incident caught on video, and while Edmonton police were tracking mean tweets, a Somali migrant took out a knife and attacked the Jewish pavilion at Edmonton's annual heritage festival. Bystanders were heard cheering and chanting antisemitic slogans as police intervened.

"Maybe instead of anti-hate buses," Ezra said, "we can actually deport that guy back to Somalia."

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Edmonton's own 2025 crime statistics, compiled by Statistics Canada, tell the broader story. Total crime rose 3.2%, property crime jumped 10.1%. Shoplifting under $5,000 increased by 30%. Mischief increased by 23% and theft from vehicles rose 17%. 

"This is a way to distract, isn't it?" Ezra said.

Ezra also argued the campaign serves a second purpose beyond distraction. "They are building the police infrastructure for a wider and more brutal censorship of the internet yet to come," he said. "Getting their systems in place, getting the websites up, setting up budgets, hiring people. This is a test drive."

Alberta Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis, an official who was present at the campaign's original launch in 2024, distanced himself from the program after the online backlash, tweeting that policing priorities should focus on "violent crime, theft, illegal drugs, and vandalism."

Premier Danielle Smith also weighed in, stating that free speech is "a foundational Alberta value" and that policing unpopular or religious-based statements is "a slippery slope other countries have fallen into."

"Better late than never," Ezra said of Ellis. "It was Ellis himself who launched the project."