More Thought Control Planned: NDP MP tables bill seeking to criminalize residential school ‘denialism’
Make no mistake about it free speech has few friends in Ottawa at least among Liberals, NDP and Bloc MPs. The latest assault is a private member’s bill introduced by an NDP MP. The National Post (September 26, 2024): “An NDP MP tabled a bill Thursday seeking to change the Criminal Code to criminalize downplaying, denying or condoning the harms of residential schools in Canada.
Leah Gazan, who represents Winnipeg Centre, presented her private member’s bill, several days before the country is set to mark the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation next week.
Private member’s bills rarely pass.”
However, “several years ago the Liberal government passed an amendment to its 2022 budget implementation bill that added a criminal provision against making public statements that promote antisemitism “by condoning, denying or downplaying the Holocaust.” …
““There’s a difference between freedom of speech and hate speech,” Gazan said, adding the abuses perpetrated to Indigenous children is irrefutable.” Just as the Jewish lobby imposed holocaust belief on us, thus making it a state religion, the thought control freaks of the NDP and others seek to impose this highly questionable account of Canadian history on us all.
NDP MP tables bill seeking to criminalize residential school ‘denialism’
Gazan presented her bill less than a week before the country is set to mark the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
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Published Sep 26, 2024 • Last updated 2 days ago • 4 minute read
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OTTAWA — An NDP MP tabled a bill Thursday seeking to change the Criminal Code to criminalize downplaying, denying or condoning the harms of residential schools in Canada.
Leah Gazan, who represents Winnipeg Centre, presented her private member’s bill, several days before the country is set to mark the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation next week.
Private member’s bills rarely pass.
Article content
Several years ago the Liberal government passed an amendment to its 2022 budget implementation bill that added a criminal provision against making public statements that promote antisemitism “by condoning, denying or downplaying the Holocaust.”
As of last November, the federal Justice Department said it was not aware of any charges or prosecutions having been laid under that offence, with British Columbia, Manitoba, Quebec and Alberta all saying they had no charges or cases on record, so the constitutionality of the law has not been tested.
Gazan confirmed in an interview Thursday she drew inspiration from the existing provision, saying she wants to see the “genocide” of residential schools given the same status.
Gazan, whose mother was a Chinese and Lakota woman and whose father survived the Holocaust, said the history of genocide on one side of her family “is never up for debate.”
“That is not true for Indigenous People of Canada,” she said on Thursday. “I cannot think of anything more violent to survivors and their family members and community to constantly have their history with genocide up for debate.”
“If this country is serious about reconciling it has to come to terms with some of our history and take the actions necessary to protect those that are most impacted by it.”
If passed, Gazan’s private member’s bill would make it an offence to willfully promote hatred against Indigenous people “by condoning, denying, justifying or downplaying the harm caused by the residential school system in Canada.”
In her speech to the House of Commons after tabling it, she said “all parliamentarians must stand firm against all forms of damaging hate speech, including the denial of the tragedy of the residential schools in Canada.”
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, which was established to investigate the residential school system, heard from thousands of former students who testified to experiencing physical, sexual, emotional and psychological abuse, as well as malnutrition.
The government-funded largely church-run system saw more than 150,000 First Nations, Métis and Inuit children removed from their homes and placed in these institutions over the course of 160 years. A majority of the schools were run by the Catholic Church.
The commission’s final report released in 2015 also estimated more than 6,000 Indigenous children died at the institutions, including from disease. The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation has a recorded list of the names of more than 4,000 who died.
Last fall, Gazan also tabled a motion that called on members of Parliament to recognize the residential school system as a genocide, which received unanimous consent from Parliament.
She told National Post she respects free speech, but said “all rights have limitations.”
“There’s a difference between freedom of speech and hate speech,” Gazan said, adding the abuses perpetrated to Indigenous children is irrefutable.
A spokeswoman for Justice Minister Arif Virani said Gazan is highlighting an important issue through her bill, which the government would review.
“We must not ignore the lasting impact these schools had on Indigenous peoples—an intergenerational trauma that continues to be deeply felt today. The denial of the atrocities that occurred remains painful for survivors, their families, and communities,” said Chantalle Aubertin.
The special representative the federal government appointed to develop policies around protecting suspected unmarked graves has also called on the government to consider adopting “legal mechanisms” to address the practice of downplaying abuses suffered by those who attended residential school.
In a June 2023 report, Kimberley Murray outlined how the Tk’emlups te Secwepemc First Nation in British Columbia had people try to enter the site, including with shovels in the middle of the night, to try and “see for themselves” if the remains of Indigenous children were in fact buried in unmarked graves.
The community made international headlines when it announced in May 2021 that ground-penetrating radar had detected what it believed could be 215 unmarked graves at the site of a former residential school.
Gazan said on Thursday some politicians have also taken part in downplaying and justifying what happened to Indigenous children at residential schools.
She pointed to former senator Lynn Beyak, who resigned in 2021 after repeatedly defending some aspects of the residential school system, which resulted in two earlier suspensions.
Conservative MP Jamie Schmale said in a statement on Thursday that his party would “closely examine” the bill.
“The residential school system is a dark chapter of our nation’s history. In 2008, the Canadian government under Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper delivered an apology finally acknowledging the horrors of the residential school system.,” Schmale said.
Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse posted on X that she supports the bill.
“Each political party should be in support of this bill,” she added
FREEDOM ISSUES IN THE OKANAGAN: MEETINGS WITH D. STEPHEN MALTHOUSE & SEAN TAYLOR AND IMPORTANT PROVINCIAL ELECTION MEETINGS —PENTICTON, SALMON ARM, ENDERBY, GRAND FORKS, OSOYOOS, ENDERBY, SUMMERLAND, SORRENTO
MPORTANT ELECTION READINESS EVENTS
SEPTEMBER 27 THROUGH OCTOBER 3
ASK QUESTIONS.GET ANSWERS.TAKE ACTION
1. ** Five events featuring Dr. Stephen Malthouse **
a. Review of legislation
b.Introduction to Political Scorecards
c. Learn what candidates & MLAs are thinking
d. Get into action!
2. And More …
Meet & Greets and All Candidates Meetings.
(Scroll below by date)
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Grand Forks **
Meet & Greet
Sean Taylor & Dr. Stephen Malthouse
Friday, September 27 – 6:30 to 9 p.m.
Royal Canadian Legion
7353 6 Street
Grand Forks
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Osoyoos **
Community Gathering
Featuring Dr. Stephen Malthouse
Saturday, September 28 – 6:30 to 9 p.m.
Osoyoos Christian Centre
42 Finch Crescent
Osoyoos
(All Candidates Invited)
(See poster attached)
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Summerland
Roger Harrington Meet & Greet
Saturday, September 28 – 1 to 3 pm
The Harold Simpson Memorial Youth Centre
9111 Peach Orchard Road
Summerland
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Armstrong Potluck **
Monday, September 30th – 6 pm
Roy Farms on Reservoir Road
1584 Reservoir Road
Spallumcheen (Armstrong) BC
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Sorrento – Town Hall **
Tuesday, October 1st
1148 Passchendaele Road Sorrento
Doors open at 6:30
7pm start
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Enderby – Town Hall **
Wednesday, October 2nd
Enderby Seniors Centre
1101 George Street
Enderby
Doors open at 6:30pm
7pm start
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Salmon Arm – TownHall **
Thursday, October 3rd
Salmon Arm Senior Citizen Association
170 5th Ave SE
Salmon Arm
Doors open at 6:30
7pm start
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Penticton
All Candidates Meeting hosted by
Penticton Chamber of Commerce
Thursday, October 3 – 5:30 to 8 PM
Okanagan College – Community Hall
583 Duncan Ave West
Penticton
CAFE’S 7TH RALLY FOR POLITICAL PRISONER LES BORY
CAFE’S 7TH RALLY FOR POLITICAL PRISONER LES BORY
We’re now into Autumn. It’s political prisoner Les Bory’s second Autumn in prison. The rotten judicial system has repeatedly denied this non-violent man, with no criminal record, bail. Meanwhile, even people accused of murder are out on bail. Violent criminals get bail. People who DO bad things get bail. People who SAY bad things stay in jail, Les Bory is a dissident pure and simple. His Internet TV show featured his dissent. His persecution is entirely political.
As of September 25, Les Bory has spent 582 days in remand. He has been charged with three counts of uttering threats against privileged groups via a podcast, February 11, 2023. Several attempts to get bail for Leslie for a non-violent alleged crime have been denied. Leslie has no criminal record. The papers are filled with stories of violent criminals let back on the streets despite previous convictions for violence. His lawyer indicates that an “expedited” (that used to mean speeded up) trial for Leslie may not occur until January 6, 2025! He will have spent two years and suffered two years loss of freedom and income without a conviction.
However, this is political! One of the groups he allegedly threatened or made nasty comments about is Canada’s most privileged group and I don’t mean Icelanders.
We owe it to this brave freedom fighter to make some noise on his behalf.
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Wasting Taxpayers’ Money & Throttling Free Speech: The Trudeau Tyrants Are Fighting “Hate”; That Is, Criticism of Privileged Minorities
Wasting Taxpayers’ Money & Throttling Free Speech: The Trudeau Tyrants Are Fighting “Hate”; That Is, Criticism of Privileged Minorities
Note the names of the tyrants who rule over us and wish to make privileged minorities “safe” by eradicating our freedom to speak and criticize.
You might was caused this extra surge in Liberal reaction. It was this:
https://petrolialambtonindependent.ca/2024/09/22/opp-investigate-after-four-pride-sidewalks-vandalized-in-petrolia/ “The Petrolia woman stood crying at the PRIDE sidewalk at LCCVI, frustrated, angry and sad to see that overnight someone had used what appeared to be a roller and some white paint to cover the sidewalk. At the north end, vandals used a stencil and black paint to emblazon “Fear God” in capital letters. There was also a cross drawn with spray paint. It was one of four PRIDE sidewalks damaged overnight. A small crossing leading to the front doors of Queen Elizabeth II Public School was painted white and, at Charlotte Eleanor Englehart Hospital near the eye clinic, white covered a sidewalk no more than 20 feet long. A black cross was also painted there.” Now millions more of our tax dollars will be spent to make the woke Liberals look sufficiently upset. LD
The Government of Canada launches Canada’s Action Plan on Combatting Hate News Release, Ottawa – September 23, 2024
Canada, like elsewhere around the world, has seen a rise in hate both on the streets and online in recent years. The federal government is committed to doing whatever it takes to protect everyone living in Canada as well as the resilient and diverse communities across the country to ensure that all can thrive while being their authentic self.
The rise in hate incidents has disproportionately affected Indigenous Peoples; Black, racialized, religious minorities, and 2SLGBTQI+ communities; women; and persons with disabilities. Hate not only harms those directly targeted but also impacts the broader Canadian society, undermining social cohesion and posing a threat to national security.
That’s why today, the Honourable Kamal Khera, Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities, unveiled Canada’s Action Plan on Combatting Hate. The Action Plan represents Canada’s first-ever comprehensive cross-government effort to combat hate. It brings together 20 key federal initiatives grounded on three pillars:
- Empower communities to identify and prevent hate;
- Support victims and survivors, and protect communities; and
- Build community trust, partnerships and institutional readiness.
The Action Plan invests $273.6 million over six years, and $29.3 million ongoing, to tackle hatred from multiple angles. It includes increasing support to victims and survivors, helping communities prevent, address and protect people from hate; enhancing research and data collection; providing greater resources for law enforcement; and raising public awareness.
Everyone has a right to be safe and treated with dignity. We will collaborate with provincial, territorial and international governments, as well as First Nations, Inuit and Métis partners, and cities and communities across Canada to make this happen. Canada’s Action Plan on Combatting Hate will help us continue building a safer and more inclusive Canada where everyone can succeed, regardless of who they are, who they love or what they believe in.
Quotes
“Everyone has the right to feel safe, regardless of who they are, what they look like or what they believe in. We have all been alarmed to witness the tragic consequences of hate, both at home and abroad. Hate has no place in Canada – whether in person or online, in our schools, or in our places of worship. Our government is committed to keeping communities across the country safe. Because when someone becomes a victim of hate, it affects all of us. Canada’s first-ever Action Plan on Combatting Hate represents an unprecedented cross-government effort to combat hate while providing more support to victims of hate and at-risk communities. As we face difficult and challenging times, we must stand up for who are as a country – a country where diversity is our strength and where everyone can be who they are and achieve their dreams without fear.”
—The Honourable Kamal Khera, Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities
“Hate, in all its forms, has no place in Canada – everyone has a right to feel and be safe in their homes and in their communities. We all have a role to play in fighting discrimination and fostering a fairer, safer and more inclusive Canada. The Changing Narratives Fund, as part of Canada’s Action Plan on Combatting Hate, will break down systemic barriers and empower diverse voices in the arts, culture and media. The fund ensures their experiences and perspectives are better represented, and advances anti-racism, equity, and diversity and inclusion within the cultural and media sectors.”
—The Honourable Pascale St‑Onge, Minister of Canadian Heritage
“In the face of an increase in hate crimes, our government is stepping up to ensure at-risk communities can access financial support to protect their institutions. The new Canada Community Security Program is designed to be simpler, more flexible and more generous, in direct response to what we’ve heard from community organizations across the country.”
—The Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs
“No one should live in fear of being who they are, but we know that discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity and expression continues to be a reality in Canada. This is wrong and must be eliminated. Canada’s Action Plan on Combatting Hate complements actions we have taken to protect and support Canadians since 2015, including the Federal 2SLGBTQI+ Action Plan, all of which were developed by listening to the voices and lived experiences of individuals and communities across Canada. As always, we continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with all communities experiencing hate and we will not hesitate to use all federal tools to protect and support them.”
—The Honourable Marci Ien, Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth
“We all expect to be safe in our homes, in our neighbourhoods and in our communities. This is why we introduced Bill C-63, a key component of Canada’s Action Plan on Combatting Hate. We know that online harms can have real world impacts with tragic and sometimes fatal consequences. This legislation is about keeping everyone safer in an online world that can feel more dangerous and unfortunately more toxic each and every day so that women, racialized persons, 2SLGBTQI+ people, and people of diverse faiths and backgrounds can go to their places of worship, community centres, schools or work without fearing that online threats might turn into real world danger.”
—The Honourable Arif Virani, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
“Canada is as innovative as it is diverse, and it is far more successful when everyone is given a fair chance to develop their full potential, free from hate and discrimination. With Canada’s Action Plan on Combatting Hate, we are standing up to confront hate and protect Canadians, and Statistics Canada will be key in researching and gathering the data needed to build a safer and more resilient society.”
—The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry
“Canada is a country rich in diversity, where every person deserves to feel safe and be respected. This is why today we’re launching Canada’s first-ever Action Plan on Combatting Hate, a commitment of $273 million to help build a safe Canada for everyone.”
—Sameer Zuberi, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities
Quick facts
- Budget 2022 provided $85 million over four years, starting in 2022–23, to the Department of Canadian Heritage to launch and implement the new Anti-Racism Strategy and a national action plan on combatting hate. Budget 2024 provides an additional $273.6 million over six years, starting in 2024–25, and $29.3 million ongoing to support Canada’s Action Plan on Combatting Hate. The Action Plan brings together key initiatives led by federal departments and organizations, including Canadian Heritage, Public Safety Canada, Justice Canada, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Women and Gender Equality Canada, Statistics Canada and the Canadian Race Relations Foundation.
- According to the July 2024 Statistics Canada data release, the number of police-reported hate crimes increased from 3,612 incidents in 2022 to 4,777 in 2023 (+32%), even though some victims might not report a hate crime they experienced. This followed an 8-percent increase in 2022 and a 72-percent increase from 2019 to 2021. Overall, the number of police-reported hate crimes (+145%) has more than doubled since 2019.
- Canada’s Action Plan on Combatting Hate is complemented by the work of the Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism and the Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia.
- Public Safety Canada’s enhanced Canada Community Security Program (CCSP) (previously the Security Infrastructure Program) is also part of Canada’s Action Plan on Combatting Hate. The CCSP is making it easier and more efficient for organizations and communities at risk of hate-motivated crime to access security support when they need it.
- The Action Plan aligns with ongoing efforts to further mitigate the risk of exposure to harmful content online through Bill C-63, which proposes to create a new Online Harms Act to create stronger protections for the most vulnerable groups online. The Government of Canada has tabled Bill C-63, An Act to enact the Online Harms Act, to amend the Criminal Code, the Canadian Human Rights Act and An Act respecting the mandatory reporting of Internet child pornography by persons who provide an Internet service and to make consequential and related amendments to other Acts, in the House of Commons.
- Canada is signatory to the Christchurch Call to Eliminate Terrorist and Violent Extremist Content Online, which is a global pledge by 56 governments, including Canada, as well as online service providers and civil society organizations to coordinate and collaborate on efforts to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online. The Government of Canada reiterates its engagement to advance the Christchurch Call to Action in Canada’s Action Plan on Combatting Hate.
- Canada’s Action Plan on Combatting Hate complements Changing Systems, Transforming Lives: Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy 2024–2028. Both initiatives take a comprehensive and intersectional approach to confronting hate, racism and discrimination.
Related products
Associated links
- Canada’s Action Plan on Combatting Hate (PDF version)
- The Canada Community Security Program
- Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy: Changing Systems, Transforming Lives 2024–2028
- Building a Foundation for Change: Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy 2019–2022
- Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism Program (formerly the Community Support, Multiculturalism, and Anti-Racism Initiatives [CSMARI])
- Federal 2SLGBTQI+ Action Plan
Contacts
For more information (media only), please contact:
Waleed Saleem
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities
waleed.saleem@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca
Media Relations
Canadian Heritage
819-994-9101
1-866-569-6155
media@pch.gc.caSearch for related information by keyword: Society and Culture | Canadian Heritage | Canada | Canadian identity and society | general public | news releases | Hon. Kamal Khera | Hon. Pascale St-Onge | Hon. Dominic LeBlanc | Hon. Marci Ien | Hon. Arif Virani | Hon. François-Philippe Champagne
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CAFE SUPPORTS POLITICAL PRISONER CLAYTON MCALLISTER
DORCHESTER, ONTARIO, September 21, 2024. A number of CAFE supporters and CAFE Director Paul Fromm attended a fundraiser for political prisoner Clayton McAllister at a barn here tonight. CAFE contributed $200 to Mr. McAllister’s defence fund.
Clayton was the first trucker arrested at the Freedom Convoy in Ottawa in February, 2022, when Trudeau brought in the police state Emergencies Act to deal with a parking problem! His non-violent resistance where he lay down in front of the Police Officers was an iconic photo seen internationally. He was arrested and faces charges of mischief, violating a Court order, trespass and resisting arrest. The torrent of charges are the acts of a vengeful state against a gentle non-violent trucker. His one month long trial opens in Ottawa, October 21, 2024.
The fundraiser was held in a huge barn. Over a hundred people enjoyed an all-you-can-eat dinner, followed by line dancing and entertainment by the Kristin Nicholls country rock band.
CAFE DIRECTOR PAUL FROMM & POLITICAL PRISONER
CLAYTON MCALLISTER
CAFE JOINED THE FREEDOM RALLY ON PARLIAMENT HILL, SEPTEMBER 16
CAFE JOINED THE FREEDOM RALLY ON PARLIAMENT HILL, SEPTEMBER 16
Parliament opened on a warm September Monday. MPs and the press were greeted by 300 freedom fighters from Ontario and Quebec.
The rally lasted all day and was loud and spirited. MPs were told in no uncertain terms that we oppose the freedom throttling Bill C-63, the so-called Online Harms Act. People are fed up with arrogant bureaucracy and freedom crushing measures like the now discredited COVID measures, the freezing of bank accounts, and the endless efforts to restrict dissent.
Alberta MLA Who Was Booted Out of the United Conservative Party for Her Negative Views on the Transgendered is Berated By A Tranny Drag Queen https://
Alberta MLA Who Was Booted Out of the United Conservative Party for Her Negative Views on the Transgendered is Berated By A Tranny Drag Queen
| Y An exiled Alberta MLA who has been under instructions to “rebuild trust” with the LGBT community has become the subject of a viral video in which one of those trust-building sessions features her being berated by an activist who moonlights as a drag queen named Karla Marx. Karla Marx is the stage name of Calgary’s Victoria Bucholtz, a trans activist who goes by the pronouns she/her — and is also a Mount Royal University sessional instructor specializing in German history. During a virtual roundtable with Alberta MLA Jennifer Johnson, Bucholtz opened by asking the Lacombe-Ponoka representative “will you state on the record that trans women are women?” Johnson said, “I’ve never been asked that before,” and then said she “wanted time to think on that.” To this, Bucholtz vowed to “speak out against this meeting.” “I’m not going to be your pink-washing unless you can tell me right now that you believe that I, as a trans woman … am a woman, then we don’t have a lot to work on here,” said Bucholz, adding, “If you can’t start with that basic foundation principle that we are who we say we are … then I don’t think we’re on the same page.” Bucholz then gave Johnson “one more chance” to agree that trans women are women, but signed off with a smile and a wave when Johnson replied, “Can we disagree and still respect each other?” Clips of the encounter have been seen more than a million times on social media, and garnered notice from Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, a vocal critic of gender identity activism. “Honestly, you don’t even need to turn up the sound,” wrote Rowling against a post on X describing Bucholtz as a “man attempting to control a woman.” Bucholtz, meanwhile, did indeed “speak out” against the meeting. “Today several members of the queer community met with MLA Jennifer Johnson … she refused to say on the record that trans women are women. No Jennifer, you haven’t done the work,” posted Bucholtz to an X account under the name KarlaMarx1917, and adorned with a banner featuring a sickle crossed with an ejaculating penis. Johnson was expelled as a candidate for the United Conservative Party in 2023 after audio was released of her saying that gender ideology in the public school curriculum was similar to ruining a batch of cookies with a “teaspoon of poop.” “It does not matter that we’re in the top three per cent of the world. Who cares if they got 89 per cent in Chemistry 30? Who cares that they’re entering post-secondary — if they’re chemically castrated?” Johnson can be heard saying in the recording. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith called it a “vile analogy” and declared that if Johnson won her riding she would not be allowed to sit in the UCP caucus. Johnson then proceeded to win her riding by one of the widest margins in the province (67 per cent against 23.5 per cent for her NDP challenger) and has been sitting as an independent ever since. In an apology issued shortly after her ejection from the UCP, Johnson said “although I am concerned about potentially life altering medical procedures for young children, this is an extremely sensitive topic for so many and I need to do a much better job communicating my concerns and objectives.” Smith has signalled the possibility that Johnson may be let back into caucus. But in a statement to Global News this week, the premier’s office said that Johnson “has some work to do to rebuild trust and relationships in the LGBT+ community.” Numerous commenters had framed the Bucholtz encounter as being part of a mandatory session that had been ordered by Smith — a claim that Johnson dismissed in a Facebook statement. “This meeting was at the request and arranged by a constituent of the Lacombe-Ponoka riding, and I was happy to accept their invitation to meet,” wrote Johnson. In addition to Bucholtz, the meeting had featured representatives of the Lacombe Pride Society, Ponoka Pride Society and the Central Alberta Pride Society. “Danielle Smith, her office, and the UCP caucus and party were in no way involved in or aware of this meeting and, contrary to speculation, this meeting has nothing to do with my future as an Independent Member of the Legislature.” |
Bill C-63 — Canada’s Darkest Hour
| Canada’s darkest hour In the present day and considering the status of free speech in Canada, it would not be a stretch to say this country is facing its own “darkest hour”. What else to think when its longstanding history and tradition of Magna Carta-inspired rights and freedoms stand to be lost with the enactment of Bill C-63 (Online Harms Act). The legislation in questions has been remarked on by C3RF patron, David Solway, as being “nothing less than a censorship closely reminiscent of the justice apparatus in authoritarian states likes China and North Korea”. He is not alone in this assessment as other notables both domestic and international, such as Joe Rogan, Elon Musk, Jordan Peterson, Russell Brand and Margaret Atwood, have likewise chimed in to describe the new law in terms of the “lettres de cachet” once issuable by the king of France to enforce “arbitrary actions and judgments that could not be appealed”. It’s like Canada has retreated back into the 17th century and the days of the “Star Chamber”. |
| Margaret Atwood – Bill C-63 will give Canada its own “lettres de cachet”-style legal system It’s easy to see how the Online Harms Act could give rise to Star Chamber or kangaroo courts in Canada. After all, the legislation calls for: the creation of a “Digital Safety Commission” that can, on the basis of anonymous charges, punish alleged wrongdoers of past and even potential future acts with fines, house arrest, electronic tagging or communication bans; Commission-appointed investigators to conduct warrantless searches and for the Commission to conduct its business without the need to be bound by any legal or technical rules of evidence; and the use of vague definitions of hate speech that will flood the Canadian human rights system with “eye-of-the-beholder” complaints of offensive, discriminatory speech. Such blatant disregard for the most basic tenets of Western judicial philosophy, including “innocent until proven guilty”, are more than a little remarkable. It might be for this reason that the act throws a bit of a sweetener into the mix with popular measures that serve to protect against the “sexual abuse of children, intimate images shared without consent, and material that can be used to bully a child or encourage them to commit self-harm”. These clearly harmful activities, however, are already illegal under Canada’s criminal code and seem to be included in Bill C-63 only to give cover to its freedom-crushing measures. |
| Justice Minister Virani, Bill C-63 will not be split into two parts! Sweetener aside, the legislation represents a baldfaced attack on the Charter rights of everyday Canadian citizens. The ability of the Digital Safety Commission, for example, to turn anonymous charges, of potential future offenses no less, into serious fines and punishments is a direct assault on the Charter’s Section 7 right to life, liberty and security of the person in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice. Then there is its ability to demand warrantless searches in direct contravention of Section 8 of the Charter and its protections to be secure from unreasonable search and seizure. When all of these injustices are tied together with a bow in the form of the Commission’s authority to dispense with the evidence requirements of Section 1 of the Charter, we can see that anyone entrapped within the net cast by Bill C-63 will find themselves in a very dark place. Indeed, the country as a whole may feel it has descended into its darkest hour as the rights and freedoms that used to underpin its reputation as a Western liberal democracy will have evaporated. |
| Looks like Bill C-63 will supersede the Charter as the supreme law of the land? |
| Descent into darkness David Solway has made note of the darkened depths to which Canada has descended. Indeed, if Bill C-63 passes the House and is ratified by the Senate “Canada would no longer be a country any sensible and freedom-loving individual would consider worth living in.” The rule of law would most certainly be pitched out the window as the citizen would become “utterly dependent on the favour of the government” as he or she was forced through a gauntlet of informers given the power to issue “damaging but unverified accusations”. And so, citizens will be forced to tread on eggshells as they try not to say, do or even think of anything that, in accordance with Bill C-63, is “likely to foment hatred”. A subjective standard if ever there was one and one that is inextricably influenced by the eye-of-the-beholder. |
| Canadian essayist and C3RF patron, David Solway, queries whether Canada “is worth living in” Given the pressure that can be brought to bear on everyday citizens by the subjective eye-of-the-beholder strictures associated with Bill C-63, it’s easy to see how other Charter rights like freedom of religion, assembly, association and mobility, along with a fair and responsible press, will need to be sacrificed to keep offence at bay. The new Canada that prioritizes the sensibilities of the thin-skinned over the civil liberties of the all is quite a stretch from the nation that had been built up on the tradition of individual sovereignty and the concept of “free men” as conceptualized in the Magna Carta of 1215. Concepts marvellously captured by John Stuart Mill in his “On Liberty” of 1859 which is well suited as an addition to the reading list of any authority involved with enacting Bill C-63. After all, its analysis of the “nature and limits of the power which can be legitimately exercised by society over the individual” is one the Bill could have benefited from. |
| John Stuart Mill “On Liberty” needs to be on the reading lists of Canadian legislators? The framers of the Canadian Charter, like The Honourable Brian Peckford, might have intended for individual sovereignty to be accommodated in the “fundamental” rights section of the document but the intention seems to have faded away over time. This vanishing act has been aided and abetted by a judiciary besotted by the ever-flexible concept of the “living tree”. This doctrine has proven popular with Canadian courts and paved the way for “progressive interpretation” to address the “realities of modern life”. These new realities, eagerly taken up by the political class, have oftentimes distinguished themselves by their rejection of traditional mores and the development of diverse identity groups which are open to division on the basis of being oppressed or being an oppressor. Conflict and acrimony reign supreme and the situation is ripe for exploitation by psychopaths with the help of useful idiots. And so the descent into darkness began. |
| Charter framers Brian Peckford et all intended for the development of competing camps? |
| Darkest hour “call to action” The descent in darkness, amazingly begun on the heels of the patriation of the Charter in 1982, has accelerated over the 2015 investiture of Canada’s current Liberal government. The quickening pace could be seen to pick up almost immediately with the passage of Motion M-103 (Islamophobia). This motion, true to form and in line with the strategy of identifying and dividing people into camps, shamelessly stated that Canada and Canadians were “systemically racist” and prone to discriminating against whole religions – particularly Islam. Many, many accusations would follow as the good folk of once “strong and free” Canada would be labelled as genocidal, climate denying anti-vaxxers who were in urgent need of being reigned in through draconian measures that restricted their ability to express such hateful mutterings. |
| If diversity is our strength, then why are we so divided and so oppressed? As Canadians navigate through their darkest hour one thing has become abundantly clear, only they have the power to force their betters to reverse course. As the events of the Wuhan virus pandemic have shown, there is no cavalry coming over the hill to restore our free and democratic society. Indeed, if anything, it is quite apparent that those given this power over Canadians have abused it to place ever more restrictions on speech as demonstrated by Bill C-63. As Billboard Chris so eloquently stated, “politicians don’t change the culture, we do!” You can join in the battle to change our wayward, anti-free speech culture by confronting your federally elected representative by phone, email or, best yet, a personal visit at their constituency office. Your own Member of Parliament’s contact information may be found here and here are some thoughts for your MP to ponder: using ill-defined “hate speech” to bring citizens to task for what they say is a subjective mug’s game that stands to be abused by “eye of the beholder” sensibilities; allowing anonymous charges to result in prohibitive fines, house arrest, electronic tagging and communication bans is an abuse of your right to security of the person; allowing charges to advance on the basis of what a person might say, or think, is truly Orwellian; and allowing for warrantless searches and seizures is simply a slap in the face to Canada’s supreme law in the form of the Charter that is embedded in our Constitution. Your decision to intervene is critical to turning Canada away from a truly dystopian future for your children and grandchildren. It’s worthwhile remembering that although Churchill recognized a nation in its darkest hour, he also, in the same speech, recognized the opportunity to turn it into its “finest hour”. |
Canadians Must Stop Bill C-63 by Russ Cooper https://cafe.nfshost.com/?p=9958
Canadians Must Stop Bill C-63 by Russ Cooper – September 18, 2024
https://www.canadiancitizens.org/single-post/canadians-must-stop-bill-c-63
Editor’s note: In this article originally published in the National Post, Barbara Kay rips the façade off Bill C-63 (https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/online-harms.html) to expose it for the totalitarian, freedom-crushing piece of legislation that it is. Increasingly, Western countries are using hate speech legislation to silence criticism of poorly thought-out government policies on matters such as immigration and multiculturalism and to prevent citizen reporting about their consequences. Canada is positioning itself as a leader in this censorial trend.
The wrapping to make the horror show that is Bill C-63 more palatable includes regulations against child pornography and online bullying, among other items already covered by the criminal code or that could easily be included as amendments. But the meat of the bill is in the proposed regulations that would crush free speech by empowering the federal cabinet to bypass Parliament in creating legislation and encourage grievance-mongers to make frivolous and malicious accusations without consequence, all while imposing draconian penalties on offenders, or people merely thought (by some anonymous person) to be likely to be an offender. Bill C-63 makes a mockery of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
We hope that readers of Barbara Kay’s article will sign our petition for Parliament to withdraw or (should it be passed) repeal this bill (it is now in second reading). We are currently seeking a member of Parliament to agree to authorize the online publication of our petition. We will notify our members when this has been done and also post the link to our petition on our website. We also invite you to write your member of Parliament and the prime minister to express your concerns. For Canadians who believe in freedom, now is the time to stand up.
Barbara Kay: Canadians can’t allow the online harms bill to snuff out free speechby Barbara Kay, National Post – September 8, 2024
Bill C-63 would punish mere expression and give draconian new powers to government. It’s unfit for a democracy
The sands of time were already running low for Justin Trudeau’s government. Jagmeet Singh’s just-announced withdrawal from their mutually supportive contract has widened the waist of the hourglass. Parliament resumes sitting on Sept. 16, and the Liberals will urgently seek to pass Bill C-63, the Online Harms Act, now in its second reading.
If passed in its present incarnation, this deeply flawed bill will drastically curtail freedom of speech in Canada (which, to be fair, is not an outlier on digital crackdowns in the West. Switzerland, of all places, just passed similar legislation).
We already have hate-crime laws in the Criminal Code that address advocacy for genocide, incitement of hatred and the wilful promotion of hatred. Apart from its laudatory intentions in removing online content that sexually victimizes children, Bill C-63 seeks to curb all online hate speech through unnecessary, inadvisable and draconian measures inappropriate to a democracy.
The law would create a new transgression: an “offence motivated by hated” which
would raise the maximum penalty for advocacy of genocide from five years to life
imprisonment. What kind of mindset considers the mere expression of hateful ideas as equivalent in moral depravity to rape and murder? Such instincts call to my mind the clever aperçu by anti-Marxist pundit David Horowitz that “Inside every progressive is a totalitarian screaming to get out.”
Another red flag: The law would give new powers to the federal cabinet to pass
regulations that have the same force as legislation passed by Parliament, and that
could, say, shut down a website. Unlike legislation, regulations created by cabinet do not require debate, votes or approval of Parliament. They can be decided in secrecy and come into force without public consultation or debate.
Yet another is the restoration of the “communication of hate speech” offence to the
Canadian Human Rights Act, a provision similar to the one repealed in 2012. Frivolous or malicious complaints could be made against persons or organizations, granting complainants significant potential for financial reward at no personal cost, win or lose. Moreover, under this law, a complainant’s sense of injury from published words would trump a defence of objective truth. This is an open invitation for myriad social malcontents and grievance-mongers to swarm the system, with no regard for the inevitable harm done to those who they target.
One group experiencing alarm for their survival under Bill C-63’s proposed strictures is the Canadian Citizens for Charter Rights and Freedoms (C3RF). C3RF educates Canadians about their Charter rights and freedoms, and proposes legislation and regulatory frameworks that guard freedom of expression. They have published numerous critical articles on topics such as gender ideology, critical race theory and vaccine mandates: hot-button issues that are sure to offend some person or group, and that a human rights tribunal might well deem hateful under the online harms law, worthy of punishment sufficient to shut them down altogether.
I’m a fan of C3RF’s founder and director, Royal Canadian Air Force Major (ret’d) Russ Cooper, a decorated CF-18 combat pilot, and an expert in the field of post-9/11 civil aviation security. Cooper came to my attention in 2017, when the House of Commons passed M-103, a non-binding motion, after some controversy. M-103 called for a “whole-of-government approach to reducing or eliminating systemic racism and religious discrimination including Islamophobia.”
The government was eager to pass it quickly, but a significant number of concerned citizens balked at their unwillingness to define “Islamophobia.” Was it hatred of Muslims, or of Islam? If it was bigotry against Muslims, why wasn’t “anti-Muslim” good enough? The difference is existential.
As the Liberals’ stonewalling on the definition continued, it became clear to a significant swath of the population that if M-103’s wording was accepted in future legislation, the Trudeau government would effectively have facilitated an Islam entitlement, similar to others in Europe granted by the European Court of Human Rights to preserve “religious peace” (except it hasn’t). Cooper moved so swiftly and competently to harness their collective energy that Conservative MPs received upwards of 900,000 critical emails within a few days of the M-103 vote.
Since then, C3RF’s membership has swelled to tens of thousands embedded within a network of other like-minded freedom- and truth-seeking organizations. As Cooper told me in an email, “If there is one good thing you can say about the draconian measures foisted upon the regular folk of Canada in the days since M-103, it’s that these vexations have unified a whole new cadre of discerning citizens, tired of being pushed around and taken for granted.”
C3RF, in conjunction with allies like Veterans for Freedom and Act! for Canada, are
working on a House of Commons petition calling for the cancellation of Bill C-63. Once a parliamentary sponsor seizes that baton and sets it in motion, I will be sure to alert readers. It would be wonderful if it were signed by every one of the 32 per cent of Canadians a