Ottawa must act to counter hate speech which has been on the rise since the start of the war in the Middle East. However, the Canadian Criminal Code protects people who voluntarily foment hatred or anti-Semitism, when their comments are expressed in good faith and based on a religious text in which they believe.
The repeal of this religious exception from the Criminal Code, which also undermines the religious neutrality of the Canadian state, therefore seems an essential step for the security and well-being of Canadians.
It is with this in mind that the Bloc Québécois tabled, last November, Bill C-367 aimed at “closing” a “complacent breach” in the Criminal Code which authorizes hateful or anti-Semitic speech when it is based on religion. Unfortunately, this bill remained a dead letter, having not even been considered in the order of priorities of the federal government.
The Bloc Québécois has just relaunched the debate by tabling, at the start of the parliamentary session, a second bill to eliminate the religious exception from the Criminal Code. Federal deputies will therefore once again be called upon to comment on the subject.
Remember that this is not the first time that Ottawa has turned a deaf ear on this subject. Indeed, in 2017-2018, more than 1,500 people signed a petition demanding the repeal of this religious exception. The government’s response was then inadequate since the jurisprudence of R. v. Keegstra (1990) cited to justify his refusal of repeal dated before the introduction of this religious exception into the Criminal Code in 2004.
The association of Atheist Freethinkers, at the origin of the 2017-2028 petition, nevertheless argued that:
1. The texts of several of the world’s major religions contain comments that denigrate and advocate hatred against unbelievers, women, homosexuals or certain ethnic or racial groups, comments that sometimes call for violence, even deadly violence. .
2. Religions therefore constitute an important cause of hate propaganda against several groups.
3. The freedom of religion of some must not take precedence over the fundamental rights of others and must never, under any circumstances, threaten either the physical integrity or the lives of members of groups targeted by hate speech in these religious texts .
More recently, it was the speech of Imam Adil Charkaoui, delivered on October 28, 2023 during a pro-Palestinian demonstration near Place des Arts, in Montreal, which raised awareness among politicians regarding the existence of the religious exception in the Criminal Code. The latter had proclaimed, in Arabic: “Allah, take care of these Zionist aggressors. Allah, take care of the enemies of the people of Gaza. Allah, identify them all, then exterminate them. And don’t spare any of them! »
At the time, even Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned the remarks of Imam Charkaoui while affirming, however, that Canada “already has very strict rules against incitement to hatred, genocide and violence “.
What is the federal government waiting for to eliminate this religious exception which seems to protect such hateful speech? Its inaction in this regard is all the more surprising given that the fight against hate speech is a priority of the current government.
Let us hope that the Bloc Québécois’ second bill requesting the repeal of the religious exception will be better received and will be one of the government’s priorities for the 2024 winter session.