(Ottawa) The Liberal government is proposing “draconian sanctions” in the Criminal Code as part of its vast plan to target online hatred, warns the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.
Justice Minister Arif Virani tabled a much-anticipated bill this week, billed as a way to address the dangers children face online.
This also includes the introduction of tougher penalties for hate crimes.
The bill proposes to increase the maximum penalty for advocating or promoting the genocide of an identifiable group to life imprisonment. Penalties of up to five years in prison for other hate propaganda offenses are also proposed in the document, when they are considered criminal acts.
The national civil liberties group says harsher penalties risk crippling free speech and undermining “principles of proportionality and fairness” within the legal system.
Director and General Counsel Noa Mendelsohn Aviv said in a statement Wednesday that the bill requires significant changes, including to the proposed Digital Security Commission, which would have the power to regulate social media giants.
Richard Moon, a law professor at the University of Windsor who specializes in free speech, said the sentencing changes are “troubling” because there is no reason to believe they will have an effective deterrent effect.
He added that how the government’s plan to create a new standalone hate crime offense would work remains unclear, since hatred can already be used as an aggravating factor in sentencing.
As proposed, the new offense would carry a life sentence.
“The idea that this could potentially result in life in prison… doesn’t make a lot of sense to me,” Mr. Moon said in an interview Wednesday.
He cited an example of mischief or vandalism that could be motivated by hate and considered a hate crime.
It is unlikely that a judge would consider sentencing someone accused of such a thing to life in prison, Mr. Moon noted.
But “the simple idea that this is in theory an available sentence seems surprising, shocking to me,” he said.
“The dramatic increase in the number of sentences available for hate crimes seems to me to be a rather worrying development. »
Jewish advocacy groups welcomed the proposed changes, citing a sharp increase in anti-Semitism since the war between Israel and Hamas began last fall.
As he unveiled the potential life sentence for abetting genocide, Virani said he had heard during consultations with stakeholders that the sentence should be increased.
He also noted that creating a new hate crime offense is intended to give police and Crown prosecutors more options.
To lay a charge of hate propaganda under the current provisions of the Criminal Code, these actors must obtain permission from attorneys general. The new offense would not require it.
Mr Virani admitted after the bill was published that there had been some “misunderstanding” around the proposed offense and whether it would carry a life sentence.
He added that the intention was not for the offense to be used alone, but rather in conjunction with other offenses.
“Think of a robbery, think of an assault, think of a rape, think of a murder – in certain contexts it will allow the judge to understand that when he associates the commission of a murder with a hateful motivation, he could potentially apply something as important as a life sentence,” he said.
Under Canadian law, a life sentence is 25 years.
Mr. Virani reiterated that judges have discretion on how and when to use this level of punishment.
“It is not a mandatory minimum. This is a potential maximum. »