Minister of Justice Sean Fraser on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Friday. He says a new federal anti-hate bill will not inhibit freedom of speech and has been designed so it does not affect peaceful protests.Justin Tang/The Canadian Press
A new federal anti-hate bill would make it a crime, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, to obstruct someone from accessing a place of worship or other sites where Jews, Muslims and other identifiable groups gather, including by blocking doors, driveways and roads.
The Combatting Hate bill would also criminalize the promotion of hatred toward religious and ethnic groups by publicly displaying terror or hate symbols, including the swastika and insignia of the Nazi SS.
Symbols of designated terror groups – including those of Islamic State, Hamas, Hezbollah, the Tamil Tigers, Proud Boys, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Taliban – would be covered by the new offence.
The bill follows calls from members of the Jewish community and others for action to protect them from intimidation and harassment.
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At a press conference in Ottawa, Justice Minister Sean Fraser said the bill would not inhibit freedom of speech and has been designed to make sure it does not affect peaceful protests, including near religious and cultural centres.
He indicated that there would not be a blanket ban on displaying symbols of terror groups – for example, walking down the street wearing a T-shirt with a Hezbollah, Hamas or Nazi insignia. Whether the person has committed a crime would “depend upon the person’s behaviour and the circumstances.”
“Law enforcement and prosecutors will need to be satisfied that they were using the symbols to willfully promote hate,” he added.
Promoting hatred by displaying Nazi insignia or symbols of terror groups banned by the federal government would carry a prison term of up to two years.
But there were questions in Ottawa on Friday about whether showing tattoos of a swastika or terror-group insignia in public would be regarded as promoting hate, or if displaying pictures of a noose or a burning cross in public would count as a crime.
Josh Dehaas, counsel at the Canadian Constitution Foundation, said: “As civil libertarians, we get nervous when governments start criminalizing symbols.”
“Symbols are protected speech and it’s dangerous to let governments threaten us with jail time for our speech, no matter how offensive it may be.”
The bill is the latest attempt by the Liberals to clamp down on a rising tide of hate. Last year, the number of hate crimes reported to the police across the country increased, with 68 per cent targeting the Jewish community and 17 per cent targeting Muslims.
Justin Trudeau’s government tried to bring in a raft of new hate offences in its online harms bill, which failed to become law in the previous parliament.
The current bill includes a new hate-crime offence that was also in the online harms bill, but it does not include other measures.
Bill C-9 would criminalize threats, acts of violence or intimidating behaviour that make people so fearful they impede their ability to access a church, synagogue, mosque or other place of worship. The offence would also cover access to schools, as well as daycares, seniors’ residences and community centres used by religious and ethnic minorities.
“This move by the federal government has been a long time coming and represents an important step toward making Canada’s Jewish communities safer,” said Jaime Kirzner-Roberts, senior director, policy and advocacy at the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center in an e-mail.
“For far too long, individuals who display hate symbols, glorify terrorism, or obstruct Jews from peacefully gathering in what should be safe spaces have been given a free pass.”
“Freedom of expression is a cornerstone of our democracy,” she added. “But when actions cross the line into incitement, hate and threats against vulnerable groups, they are no longer legitimate protest – they are acts of intimidation and a threat to the fabric of Canadian society.”
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The bill would define hate in law, as an “emotion that involves detestation or vilification and that is stronger than disdain or dislike.”
It also makes a hate-motivated crime a specific offence with a range of sentences. Uttering threats could carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison. But it could mean life in prison if the offence is linked to another charge that carries a penalty of more than 14 years, such as murder.
Bill C-9 would make it easier for the police to charge people for promoting genocide, and other “hate-propaganda” offences, by removing the requirement to get prior approval of the attorney-general. The offence would be punishable by a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
It would also be a crime, punishable by up to ten years in prison, to intentionally interfere with another person’s access to buildings used for worship, including synagogues, mosques, churches, temples and gurdwaras. The new obstruction offence could include deliberately blocking doors, driveways, or roads to certain places used by an identifiable group.
An “identifiable group” is a term in the Criminal Code used to indicate a group distinguished by colour, race, religion, national or ethnic origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or mental or physical disability.
Mr. Fraser said the measures in the federal bill are distinct from “bubble-zone” laws introduced by provinces and municipalities.
“We have seen recently synagogues in Halifax vandalized with hate symbols. We have seen violent attacks against people in Montreal because they are Jewish. We have seen the desecration of the National Holocaust Memorial. We have seen Muslim Canadians suffer discrimination for many years,” Mr. Fraser said at the Ottawa press conference. “Sadly, there is no community that is immune from hate.”
Noah Shack, CEO for the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, said in an e-mail that the bill is “an important signal of government action to confront serious threats facing Canada’s Jewish community.”