Canadians Face Jail & Fines With Online “Hate” Act

To deal with so-called “online hate,” Canada’s Liberal government, headed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, has introduced a draconian piece of legislation that could have Canadians facing lifetime imprisonment, fines and being placed under house arrest.

The legislation is called the Online Harms Act which was discussed by government leaders this week in Canada’s capital.

Among the categories of harmful content identified in the act are materials that incite violent extremism or terrorism, promote violence, or foment hatred, as well as amendments to Canada’s Criminal Code and the Canadian Human Rights Act.

The bill includes amendments to Canada’s Criminal Code which seek to address the ambiguous term “hate crimes” more effectively. Pre-existing hate propaganda offences are also set to be increased substantially.

Trudeau is essentially trying to establish the definition of a “hate crime” by using the legal system to set forth legally recognized crimes targeting “hate speech.”

What Could The Bill Do?

According to Ezra Levant, who is a lawyer and Founder of Rebel News in Canada, the bill would give anyone the ability to take individuals like the well-known Jordan Peterson to the “Canadian Human Rights Tribunal for every tweet or YouTube video he publishes, not just in the future, but anything he’s done historically that’s still available online.”

• File Costly Complaints Anonymously

Levant stated that “Each complaint is free to file. It’s not like a civil lawsuit where you have to hire a lawyer and pay a filing fee, etc. The government helps you if you need it. Each complaint can result in a.) a $20,000 fine payable to the complainant and b.) a $50,000 fine payable to the government.”

The identity of those making complaints or providing evidence are kept completely secret from the individual being accused, as well as from the public. This means that anyone, your neighbor, a coworker who doesn’t like you or someone in government could file an anonymous complaint against you and you’re then bogged down by bureaucracy!

According to True North’s Cosmin Dzsurdzsa, “A lot of crucial details were left out of the government’s technical briefing this week. The final fine can reach up to $70K, not just $20K as reported. That is the government can claim a $50K cut (more than the victim’s $20K compensation.)”

According to True North’s Cosmin Dzsurdzsa, “A lot of crucial details were left out of the government’s technical briefing this week. The final fine can reach up to $70K, not just $20K as reported. That is the government can claim a $50K cut (more than the victim’s $20K compensation.)”

Amendments to the Canadian Human Rights Act will allow anyone to file complaints against persons posting so-called “hate speech” with the Canadian Human Rights Commission. If found guilty, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal can order those found to violate the government’s definition of hatred with fines up to $70,000 and takedown orders for content.

• Has a Retroactive Feature

This bill, if passed, would silence people from speaking as it provides an avenue for people to go after their rivals through the creation of a new section 13(2) of the Canadian Human Rights Act that would say Canadians are liable for anything they’ve ever posted, effectively creating a retroactive bill that covers past tweets, Facebook posts and comments online that could have individuals facing fines and/or jail time.

• Creates a “pre-crime”

The bill creates a pre-crime called “fear of hate crime”. You can be put under house arrest, with an ankle monitor, forced to give blood samples, banned from talking to any person, etc. if someone “fears” you’ll say something hateful.

• Life Imprisonment

In a section called “Amendments to the Act,” the lawmakers write “Every person who advocates or promotes genocide is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for life.”

The bill would raise “the maximum punishments for the four hate propaganda offences from 5 years to life imprisonment for advocating genocide and from 2 years to 5 years for the others when persecuted by way of indictment.”

• Establishes the Definition of “Hate Crimes”

The bill would add a definition of “hatred” based on the past decision of the Supreme Court of Canada to the Criminal Code.

The text of the bill defines “content that foments hatred” as any content “content that expresses detestation or vilification of an individual or group of individuals on the basis of a prohibited ground of discrimination, within the meaning of the Canadian Human Rights Act, and that, given the context in which it is communicated, is likely to foment detestation or vilification of an individual or group of individuals on the basis of such a prohibited ground.‍”

“For greater certainty and for the purposes of the definition content that foments hatred, content does not express detestation or vilification solely because it expresses disdain or dislike or it discredits, humiliates, hurts or offends,” adds the government.

Private messaging and communications on social media platforms are excluded from incredible overreach of this legislation.

It would appear as though Trudeau is taking inspiration from kangaroo courts and the Democratic Party (even some within the Republican Party) in their use of the justice system to attack President Trump with “lawfare.”

“So it’s the Trump treatment,” Levant put it on X, “Overwhelm the target with endless nuisance suits that take time and money to fight. Even if the complaints are dismissed, you’re still at a loss. And if literally hundreds of complaints are filed against someone like Prof. Peterson, even if only 5% are upheld, that’s economically devastating.”

Former Prime Minister Stephen Harper repealed a similar provision under an Act dealing with online hate messages in 2014 when it was determined that it stood in violation of Canadian’s rights to freedom of expression.

Is it possible that this legislation could face a similar fate? Time will tell. As for right now, Canadians aren’t going along with this blatant disregard for their rights and several citizen petitions have been launched to stand up and say NO in the face of this tyranny.

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