Toronto, Oct. 8 -- As hate directed at Indian immigrants, especially Sikhs, escalates in Canada, an Indo-Canadian lawmaker has called out the alarming trend. In a post on X on Sunday, Hardeep Grewal, member of Ontario's provincial parliament or MPP (equivalent of an MLA), said, "Today in downtown Muskoka, while sharing ice cream with my family, two strangers decided to share their hate instead. One yelled, "Hey turban head, go home," before speeding off. Another, walking by, said, "You all should die." In that moment, "I was reminded that the fight against hate is far from over". Muskoka is a scenic township in central Ontario. But what Grewal faced as ugly, as he said, "It is not the first time this has happened, but today I feel compelled to speak out about how exhausting and painful it is." "To my Sikh brothers and sisters, stay vigilant, stay proud, and stay strong. Hate never wins. Good will always triumph," he added. At the end of September, residents of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) town of Mississauga witnessed graffiti that was spraypainted at a prominent location, next to a children's park. It read, "Indian rats" and is part of a trend of the targeting of the community, the most visible and largest cohort among new immigrants. Naresh Chavda, founding director of the National Alliance of Indo-Canadians (NAIC), attributed the increasing racism to the influence of the anti-immigrant measures adopted by the US. He called upon the government to act and found it "unacceptable" that not a single politician, including Mississauga's Mayor Carolyn Parrish had condemned the incident. "The United States of America is spearheading a campaign against both legal and illegal immigration, which has repercussions in Canada. In essence, blaming foreigners for stealing Canadian jobs and immigrants for driving up housing and rental expenses is much simpler than dealing with complex economic issues," Shinder Purewal, professor of political science at Kwantlen Polytechnic College in British Columbia, said. Indians are obvious targets because of their visibility and growing numbers, and Sikhs even more so. As Purewal pointed out, "The outwardly symbols of the Sikhs makes them an easy target. Other non-white immigrants also have a difficult time, but Sikhs stand out because of their external markers." The worrying trend has led to Peel Regional Police (PRP), which has large parts of the GTA under its jurisdiction, to announce the formation of a centralised Hate Crime Unit. "Our new dedicated Hate Crime Unit will relentlessly pursue and hold those who commit hate crimes accountable. Acts of hate have no place in our community," PRP's deputy chief Mark Dapat said. Anti-immigration sentiment, verging on xenophobia, has burgeoned in Canada over the past three years. A recent survey conducted by the polling firm Leger found that 60% of respondents felt the country did not need new immigrants....