Legislation to tackle online hate remains an 鈥渁bsolute priority,鈥� the federal justice minister said Tuesday as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau underscored the need for Canadians to respect each other鈥檚 freedom of expression.
Arif Virani said the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas has led to a sharp rise in hateful online rhetoric, some of it manifesting in violent attacks on religious and community groupsin cities such as Toronto and Montreal.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 not what we need in this country, and I think an online hate bill can help to address that,鈥� Virani said before the government鈥檚 weekly cabinet meeting in Ottawa.
Virani鈥檚 desk is the latest place the long-awaited bill has landed after the Liberals first promised in the 2019 election campaign to bring in legislation to combat hate speech, terrorist content and sexual abuse material.
鈥淚鈥檓 deeply disappointed,鈥� said Bernie Farber, chair of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network, who served on a panel of experts the governmentassembled in spring 2022 to advise on its development.
Farber said there is a 鈥渄ire need鈥� for Ottawa to better protect Canadians from the hate they see online, which is the preferred means of dissemination for those looking to spread bigoted rhetoric and ideas.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a pretty frustrating situation.鈥�
It is no longer a matter of if Canadians can become radicalized by the content they consume online, but when, Farber added.
He cited the recent first-degree murder conviction of Nathaniel Veltman, who killed four members of a Muslim family with a truck in 2021. Court heard he would spend hours a day online consuming far-right material.
In 2019, Trudeau inked into the mandate letter of his then-heritage minister to introduce regulations for social media platforms to compel them to remove all illegal content, ranging from hate speech to child abuse images, within 24 hours.
By June 2021, just as the House of Commons was set to break for summer, the Liberals tabled a bill designed to protect Canadians from online hate speech. It would have amended both the Criminal Code and Youth Criminal Justice Act, and allow groups to file hate-speech complaints under the Canadian Human Rights Act.
That bill was never passed; Trudeau promised to table a new version within 100 days of re-forming government in September 2021, but it never happened. Instead, the government assembled another expert panel to provide recommendations for a future bill.
Since the concept for the bill was first introduced, the government has pointed to global events like the COVID-19 pandemic and storming of Capitol Hill in January 2021 as flashpoints that illustrate the need to tackle the spread of online hate and racism.
Emily Laidlaw, a professor at the University of Calgary whose research focuses on online harms and served on that panel along with Farber, said the legislation is likely to be 鈥渉ighly controversial,鈥� since it touches on free speech and forces lawmakers to choose which online harms warrant restriction.
鈥淚t鈥檚 time to have that discussion,鈥� Laidlaw said. 鈥淭his is extraordinarily complicated legislation.鈥�
Both she and Farber say in order to be effective, the bill will have to create a regulator to deal with social media companies and ensure they assume responsibility for hateful rhetoric that appears on their platforms.
That means having the power to levy fines hefty enough to prod them to take action, Farber said.
Meta and Google didn鈥檛 immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday, but both companies have policies that address misinformation.
Until recently, the legislation was mainly in the hands of the federal Heritage Department, with support from Justice. Those roles became reversed after a recent cabinet shuffle.
鈥淚t will be an important shared responsibility led by Justice Canada with the support of Canadian Heritage. Minister Virani will introduce legislation in due course,鈥� Trudeau鈥檚 office confirmed in a recent statement.
Virani acknowledged Tuesday the importance of tabling a new bill, but warned that regulating online platforms would be more complicated than making changes to criminal law. Hewouldn鈥檛 say whether the new legislation would be introduced in the House of Commons before the holiday break, likely in mid-December.
鈥淢y hope is that it鈥檚 tabled soon, because I鈥檓 hearing that from stakeholders and I鈥檓 hearing that from concerned Canadians.鈥�
While the legislation is complex, Virani pledged it remains an 鈥渁bsolute priority鈥� for him and other members of cabinet.
Jewish and Muslim organizations alike say it鈥檚 vital for the Liberals to properly define what constitutes online harm. Prominent Jewish groups have argued such a law is needed to force social-media giants to remove antisemitic comments.
The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs has been in discussions with the government about the legislation. Chief executive Shimon Koffler Fogel said he wants to see 鈥渁 clear, transparent protocol鈥� to allow platforms to deal with users who spread such rhetoric.
B鈥檔ai Brith Canada CEO Michael Mostyn called it a consistent problem with social media and said companies are not doing enough to take immediate action.
Fogel cited his organization鈥檚 repeated attempts to have X, formerly Twitter, suspend the account of Laith Marouf, a consultant who previously worked for the federal government.
In a letter to X owner Elon Musk, the centre accused Marouf of using the platform to make 鈥渧iolent, antisemitic, and hateful remarks.鈥�
In a statement to The Canadian Press, Marouf accused the centre of trying to 鈥渟ilence their critics,鈥� and pointed to the existence of hate propaganda laws which he said it knows 鈥減rotect criticism of their supremacist political ideology and colonial project.鈥�
The National Council of Canadian Muslims has also reported seeing a sharp uptick in hate-filled comments against Muslims and others of Arabic descent since the war broke out last month.
Stephen Brown, the organization鈥檚 CEO, said it has had many conversations with those in government about the legislation, saying it must start from the basis of clearly defining 鈥渨hat is considered hateful in Canada.鈥�
鈥淲e also oppose anything that would prevent legitimate criticism of foreign governments or anything that would prevent legitimate expression of political views.鈥�
Brown said the council has seen users face harassment for posting certain messages, such as calling for a ceasefire or expressing support for Palestinians. Some are even finding their accounts suspended, he added.
鈥淚t鈥檚 becoming more increasingly difficult to express support for Palestinians online,鈥� he said. 鈥淗ow are the social media platforms handling it?鈥�
Before Tuesday鈥檚 meeting, Trudeau called the rise of antisemitism and Islamophobia in Canada and around the world 鈥渞eally scary,鈥� warning that it puts the possibility of a two-state solution in the Middle East at risk.
鈥淧eople are forgetting a little bit that we鈥檙e a country that protects the freedom of expression, that protects liberty of conscience, that respects and supports people even when we disagree with them,鈥� he said.
鈥淲e have to remember that just waving a Palestinian flag is not automatically antisemitism. And someone expressing grief for hostages taken is not an endorsement of dead civilians.鈥�
READ ALSO:
READ ALSO:
