Trudeau's 'anti-hate' bill will allow people to PREEMPTIVELY report Canadians for 'hate speech'

Proposed hate speech legislation would allow people to take others to court if they suspect that someone will post content deemed hateful online.

ADVERTISEMENT
Image
Roberto Wakerell-Cruz Montreal QC
ADVERTISEMENT

Proposed hate speech legislation would allow people to take others to court if they suspect that someone will post content deemed hateful online.

Bill C-36 states that "a person may, with the Attorney General's consent, lay an information before a provincial court judge if the person fears on reasonable grounds that another person will commit (a) an offence under section 318 [advocating genocide] or subsection 319" [inciting or promoting hate, promoting hatred].

It also covers "an offence motivated by bias, prejudice or hate based on race, national or ethnic origin, language, colour, religion, sex, age, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other similar factor."

Diversity Minister Ahmed Hussen reintroduced the legislation after events that transpired in Ottawa, in which a very small number of individuals at the freedom convoy protest carried hateful symbols, including the swastika.

Ahmed called the symbols "reprehensible," and said that the government would reintroduce the bill that died when the election was called last year.

"Seeing symbols of hate right across the doorstep of our Parliament is unbelievable and should be condemned," he said.

The bill states that those who practice discrimination or communicate hate speech online or via "other means of telecommunication" in which hate speech is likely to foment "detestation or vilification" of an individual or group of individuals on the basis of a "prohibited ground of discrimination."

It also does not provide a clear-cut definition of what hate is, and instead says that "hatred means the emotion that involves detestation or vilification and that is stronger than dislike or disdain." This means that someone could still technically post "dislike speech."

"We know too many people in Canada are victimized by hate speech and hate crimes and we have to make sure we are tackling this," he said in January. "One of the ways we are doing this is to formally define hatred in the Criminal Code and also to improve the complaints process available for victims of hate speech."

Academics and human rights advocates said that the first version of the bill, then proposed by Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault, was "aggressive," "punitive," and "disturbing."

"The proposals fail to account for the importance of protecting the kinds of expression that are most central to a free and democratic society including journalism, academic scholarship and public interest research, debate, artistic creation, criticism and political dissent," wrote the University of Toronto's Citizen Lab in a submission to the heritage department.

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Sign in to comment

Comments

Powered by StructureCMS™ Comments

Join and support independent free thinkers!

We’re independent and can’t be cancelled. The establishment media is increasingly dedicated to divisive cancel culture, corporate wokeism, and political correctness, all while covering up corruption from the corridors of power. The need for fact-based journalism and thoughtful analysis has never been greater. When you support The Post Millennial, you support freedom of the press at a time when it's under direct attack. Join the ranks of independent, free thinkers by supporting us today for as little as $1.

Support The Post Millennial

Remind me next month

To find out what personal data we collect and how we use it, please visit our Privacy Policy

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
By signing up you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy
ADVERTISEMENT
© 2024 The Post Millennial, Privacy Policy