Virani says new measures meant to help prevent hate crimes will come with safeguards
A series of steps would need to happen before a judge can restrict a person's movement because of fears they could commit a hate crime, federal Justice Minister Arif Virani said Thursday as he defended a suite of tougher penalties to combat hate.
Virani said he listened to calls for Ottawa to better respond to a rise in hate-motivated crimes when drafting the Online Harms Act, which includes a new peace bond provision.
"I know what I've heard from victims, and whether that's the rise of hatred that we're seeing against Jewish victims, Muslim victims right now — people are concerned about the rising spike of hatred," he said Thursday.
The Online Harms Act, known as Bill C-63, would usher in a new regulator to compel social media companies to outline how they plan to reduce the risks their platforms pose to users, particularly minors.
The bill, tabled this week, looks to address a wide range of dangers, from content used to bully a child online to material that incites hate or promotes terrorism.
To address freedom of expression concerns, Virani has said that under the new rules, platforms would only be compelled to remove material within a tight 24-hour time frame if it contains child sexual abuse or the non-consensual sharing of intimate images.
Critics including legal experts and civil society groups like the Canadian Civil Liberties Association have raised concerns over proposed changes to the Criminal Code that usher in stiffer sentences for hate propaganda crimes, including up to life imprisonment for advocating genocide.
The minister has said discretion remains in the hands of the courts as to how penalties are determined.
The bill also seeks to reintroduce online hate speech as a type of discrimination that can be adjudicated under the Canadian Human Rights Act, which critics say could lead to an influx of complaints.
The legislation also seeks to amend the law so that someone who fears a person will commit a hate crime — including a hate propaganda offence such as advocating genocide or inciting hatred — can ask a judge to impose conditions on that person.
That could include requiring them to wear an electronic monitoring device, stay at their residence, refrain from going to certain public places or stay away from the person seeking the order.
Virani defended the new measure, saying similar peace bonds can already be sought in cases involving domestic violence, and called it a well-understood tool under Canadian criminal law.
An individual seeking such a measure would have to provide evidence to a court, and any order must be approved by a provincial attorney general, the minister said.
Those "safeguards," he said, are there to address concerns around the constitutionality of imposing restrictions on someone before any crime has been committed.
He added such "vetting features" are what "make it a high threshold to achieve but an important threshold where it's warranted in a given case."
B'nai Brith Canada, a national Jewish advocacy organization, suggested the measure may be redundant, as individuals can already seek out peace bonds and restraining orders.
"We're supportive of the fact that the courts can intervene on behalf of somebody who is the victim of a hate crime," said research and advocacy director Richard Robertson.
However, he said if the government wants to help victims of antisemitic hate crimes, it should consider expanding the definition of what constitutes the wilful "promotion of antisemitism" in criminal law.
The current phrasing defines that as "condoning, denying or downplaying" the Holocaust, which Robertson said is too narrow.
"We believe that that's insufficient," to respond to hate speech against Jewish people that the organization has documented, he said in an interview Thursday.
"We were hoping that that would have been expanded … and we were disappointed that it wasn't."
Richard Marceau of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs said his group considers the proposed hate-specific court order "worth pursuing and looking at very seriously."
The two groups, along with other Jewish organizations, have been calling on the government to do more to address hate crimes since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war.
Kyla Lee, a British Columbia-based lawyer who chairs the criminal justice section of the Canadian Bar Association, said she expects to see the new hate-related peace bond used more often should the bill pass.
"In some respects, that's helpful because those types of orders can keep things out of the court and can help things from being diverted from trial," she said.
"It also avoids a criminal conviction where one might not be necessary to protect the public."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 29, 2024
IN DEPTH
Jagmeet Singh pulls NDP out of deal with Trudeau Liberals, takes aim at Poilievre Conservatives
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has pulled his party out of the supply-and-confidence agreement that had been helping keep Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's minority Liberals in power.
'Not the result we wanted': Trudeau responds after surprise Conservative byelection win in Liberal stronghold
Conservative candidate Don Stewart winning the closely-watched Toronto-St. Paul's federal byelection, and delivering a stunning upset to Justin Trudeau's candidate Leslie Church in the long-time Liberal riding, has sent political shockwaves through both parties.
'We will go with the majority': Liberals slammed by opposition over proposal to delay next election
The federal Liberal government learned Friday it might have to retreat on a proposal within its electoral reform legislation to delay the next vote by one week, after all opposition parties came out to say they can't support it.
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Conservatives call on Elon Musk to step in after Liberals provide loan to Ottawa-based satellite operator
A $2.14-billion federal loan for an Ottawa-based satellite operator has Canadian politicians arguing about whether American billionaire Elon Musk poses a national security risk.
Sunken superyacht believed to contain watertight safes with sensitive intelligence data
Specialist divers surveying the wreckage of the US$40 million superyacht that sank off Sicily in August, killing seven people including British tech tycoon Mike Lynch, have asked for heightened security to guard the vessel, over concerns that sensitive data locked in its safes may interest foreign governments, multiple sources told CNN.
Myths busted and lessons learned: John Vennavally-Rao on his surgery to reverse his ostomy
Twenty-seven year Â鶹ӰÊÓ reporter and anchor John Vennavally-Rao shares his story of what it was like to have an ostomy bag as part of his health-care battle. 'I’m grateful for what it did to extend my life,' he writes in a personal column for CTVNews.ca.
The British Columbia election campaign is set to officially start today, with Lt.-Gov. Janet Austin issuing the writ for the Oct. 19 vote.
A northern Ontario man is facing a $12,000 fine after illegally shooting a moose near the Batchawan River.
Heavy metal exposure could increase cardiovascular disease risk, study finds
A new study is adding to emerging research showing that exposure to metals such as cadmium, uranium and copper may also be associated with the leading cause of death worldwide, cardiovascular disease.
Unusual flippered feet are making their way into the Saint Lawrence River this weekend. Led by underwater explorer and filmmaker Nathalie Lasselin, volunteer divers are combing the riverbed near Beauharnois in Montérégie to remove hundreds of tires that have been polluting the aquatic environment for decades.
Hezbollah targets base near Haifa after Israeli strike in Beirut killed 37, including top commander
The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah announced that it fired a barrage of missiles at a military base deep inside Israel early Sunday following an Israeli airstrike more than a day earlier that killed at least 37 people, including one of the militant group’s senior leaders as well as women and children.
A sea lion swam free after a rescue team disentangled it near Vancouver Island earlier this week.
Local Spotlight
Cole Haas is more than just an avid fan of the F.W. Johnson Wildcats football team. He's a fixture on the sidelines, a source of encouragement, and a beloved member of the team.
Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.
An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.
They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.
A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.
Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.
The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.
It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.