{"id":2867,"date":"2019-05-17T22:45:14","date_gmt":"2019-05-18T02:45:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/?p=2867"},"modified":"2019-05-17T22:45:14","modified_gmt":"2019-05-18T02:45:14","slug":"2867","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/?p=2867","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"entry-header\">\n<h1 class=\"entry-title\">As Canadian MPs weigh how to police online hate, one proposes new body to give tickets or warnings to offenders<\/h1>\n<h2 class=\"excerpt\">Critics warn that any such system could simply become a mechanism for people to shut down views with which they don\u2019t agree<\/h2>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"entry-featured-media-container below-content\">\n<figure id=\"post-78084525media-78084525\" class=\"entry-featured-media align-none wp-caption post-img featured-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-post-image\" src=\"https:\/\/nationalpostcom.files.wordpress.com\/2019\/05\/0114_na_estonia-e1558039470710.jpg?quality=80&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" alt=\"\" width=\"780\" height=\"\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"img-caption\">Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics Chair Bob Zimmer (left) and Deputy-Chair Charlie Angus (right) look on as deputy-chair Nathaniel Erskine-Smith speaks during a news conference in Ottawa, Tuesday December 11, 2018.<\/span><span class=\"img-author\">THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Adrian Wyld<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"left-rail\" class=\"fixed-holder first left\">\n<div id=\"entry-details-container\">\n<section id=\"entry-details\" class=\"entry-details byline clearfix\">\n<div class=\"story-details\">\n<div class=\"author-wrap\">\n<div class=\"author-container main-author\"><a class=\"author\" href=\"https:\/\/nationalpost.com\/author\/stuartxthomson\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"avatar\" src=\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/87fb0ec8fccb9c3ded03e800ccd115b1?s=96&amp;d=mm&amp;r=g\" alt=\"Stuart Thomson\" width=\"90\" \/><br \/>\nStuart Thomson<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"byline-dates\">\n<p><time class=\"entry-date published pubdate\" datetime=\"2019-05-16T16:49:31-04:00\">May 16, 2019<br \/>\n4:49 PM EDT<\/time><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"filed-under\">Filed under<\/p>\n<div class=\"breadcrumb-wrap\">\n<ul class=\"breadcrumb-list\">\n<li data-event-tracking=\"Parent Breadcrumbs\">Canadian Politics<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"shortcut shortcut-comment\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nationalpost.com\/news\/politics\/as-canadian-mps-weigh-how-to-police-online-hate-one-proposes-new-body-to-give-tickets-or-warnings-to-offenders#comments-area\">Comment<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"shortcut share-button share-facebook\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fnationalpost.com%2Fnews%2Fpolitics%2Fas-canadian-mps-weigh-how-to-police-online-hate-one-proposes-new-body-to-give-tickets-or-warnings-to-offenders\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-share-url=\"https:\/\/nationalpost.com\/news\/politics\/as-canadian-mps-weigh-how-to-police-online-hate-one-proposes-new-body-to-give-tickets-or-warnings-to-offenders\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"icon\" src=\"https:\/\/s2.wp.com\/wp-content\/themes\/vip\/postmedia-theme-npfp\/images\/icon-facebook.svg\" \/>Facebook<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"shortcut share-button share-twitter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=As%20Canadian%20MPs%20weigh%20how%20to%20police%20online%20hate%2C%20one%20proposes%20new%20body%20to%20give%20tickets%20or%20warnings%20to%20offenders&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fnationalpost.com%2Fwcm%2Fb5179bc7-32d2-4861-be50-ec702fb06f0c&amp;related=financialpost,fullcomment&amp;via=nationalpost\" 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decoding=\"async\" class=\"icon\" src=\"https:\/\/s2.wp.com\/wp-content\/themes\/vip\/postmedia-theme-npfp\/images\/icon-reddit.svg\" \/>Reddit<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"shortcut share-button share-email\"><a href=\"mailto:?subject=National%20Post%3A%20As%20Canadian%20MPs%20weigh%20how%20to%20police%20online%20hate%2C%20one%20proposes%20new%20body%20to%20give%20tickets%20or%20warnings%20to%20offenders&amp;body=I%20wanted%20to%20share%20a%20story%20with%20you%20from%20National%20Post%3A%0A%0AAs%20Canadian%20MPs%20weigh%20how%20to%20police%20online%20hate%2C%20one%20proposes%20new%20body%20to%20give%20tickets%20or%20warnings%20to%20offenders%0ACritics%20warn%20that%20any%20such%20system%20could%20simply%20become%20a%20mechanism%20for%20people%20to%20shut%20down%20views%20with%20which%20they%20don%E2%80%99t%20agree%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fnationalpost.com%2Fnews%2Fpolitics%2Fas-canadian-mps-weigh-how-to-police-online-hate-one-proposes-new-body-to-give-tickets-or-warnings-to-offenders%0A\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external nofollow noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"icon\" src=\"https:\/\/s2.wp.com\/wp-content\/themes\/vip\/postmedia-theme-npfp\/images\/icon-email.svg\" \/>Email<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"shortcut share-button share-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nationalpost.com\/news\/politics\/as-canadian-mps-weigh-how-to-police-online-hate-one-proposes-new-body-to-give-tickets-or-warnings-to-offenders#\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"icon\" src=\"https:\/\/s2.wp.com\/wp-content\/themes\/vip\/postmedia-theme-npfp\/images\/icon-share.svg\" \/>More<\/a><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"story-main-content\" class=\"fixed-fluid-holder right active last\">\n<div class=\"fluid-holder right\">\n<div class=\"entry-content \">\n<div class=\"story-content\">\n<p>As Canada grapples with how to prosecute existing laws like harassment, defamation and criminal hate speech in the Wild West, one Liberal MP is proposing the creation of a new judicial body to deal with online offences.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe criminal code is not an effective instrument,\u201d said Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, at a justice committee meeting on Thursday, where MPs are studying the problem of online hate. Erskine-Smith, who is vice chair of the ethics and privacy committee, was subbing in at the justice hearing because of overlapping issues the MPs are dealing with.<\/p>\n<p>Rather than embarking on an expensive prosecution for minor offences, Canada could set up \u201can administrative system that is flexible and efficient,\u201d Erskine-Smith said. \u201cThe blunt instrument of imprisoning someone, putting them through a rigorous criminal trial, is probably not the right answer for enforcing rules against hate speech online in every instance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In an interview with the National Post after the committee meeting, Erskine-Smith raised examples like online threats, harassment and defamation that are obviously breaking Canada\u2019s laws but that rarely get policed. The proposed administrative judicial system could issue tickets or warnings, the same way it happens \u201cif you\u2019re drunk in the street and disorderly,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>However, critics warned that any such system could simply become a mechanism for people to shut down views with which they don\u2019t agree.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"pn_pullquote\"><p>There needs to be a recourse against the platforms and the individuals responsible for the speech<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<div class=\"pullquote-share-container\">\n<div class=\"share-button share-facebook\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fnationalpost.com%2Fnews%2Fpolitics%2Fas-canadian-mps-weigh-how-to-police-online-hate-one-proposes-new-body-to-give-tickets-or-warnings-to-offenders\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-share-url=\"https:\/\/nationalpost.com\/news\/politics\/as-canadian-mps-weigh-how-to-police-online-hate-one-proposes-new-body-to-give-tickets-or-warnings-to-offenders\" data-share-text=\"&quot;There needs to be a recourse against the platforms and the individuals responsible for the speech&quot;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"icon\" src=\"https:\/\/s2.wp.com\/wp-content\/themes\/vip\/postmedia-theme-npfp\/images\/facebook_solo.svg\" \/>\u00a0<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"share-button share-twitter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=%22There%20needs%20to%20be%20a%20recourse%20against%20the%20platforms%20and%20the%20individuals%20responsible%20for%20the%20speech%22&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fnationalpost.com%2Fwcm%2Fb5179bc7-32d2-4861-be50-ec702fb06f0c&amp;related=financialpost,fullcomment&amp;via=nationalpost\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external nofollow noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"icon\" src=\"https:\/\/s2.wp.com\/wp-content\/themes\/vip\/postmedia-theme-npfp\/images\/twitter_solo.svg\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cMy question for you is, who is determining what is hateful?\u201d said Jay Cameron, a lawyer for the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms.<\/p>\n<p>Cameron said he was concerned that whether the social media platforms some judicial body were responsible for removing content, it was likely to unfairly target conservative voices. He raised examples of pro-life advocates being silenced simply for stating their beliefs.<\/p>\n<p>Jennifer Klinck, from Egale Canada Human Rights Trust, said she was broadly in favour of \u201ca non-criminal administrative law remedy\u201d for dealing with hate speech but said she was also wary of free speech issues. If it becomes a mechanism for shutting down controversial views, she said that could disproportionately affect vulnerable groups like LGBT people.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere needs to be a recourse against the platforms and the individuals responsible for the speech,\u201d said Klinck. We need \u201ca variety of tools in the toolbox,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>The committee\u2019s discussion comes in the wake of two landmark rulings on hate speech in Canada and an international focus on the issue. In Toronto in January,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/canada\/toronto\/your-ward-promoting-hate-1.4990806\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">two men were found guilty<\/a>\u00a0of promoting hatred against women and Jews with a publication called Your Ward News that was delivered to homes in the city. In British Columbia in March, anti-gay activist William Whatcott\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/vancouversun.com\/news\/local-news\/anti-gay-activist-ordered-to-pay-55000-to-b-c-trans-activist-in-fight-over-hateful-flyer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">was ordered to pay<\/a>\u00a0$55,000 to trans activist Morgane Oger after Whatcott distributed a hate-filled flyer about Oger during the 2017 provincial election.<\/p>\n<p>Both those rulings involved physical flyers, which MPs and witnesses agreed was much easier to prosecute than the more ephemeral and voluminous speech that takes place online.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"related_links\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/nationalpost.com\/opinion\/canada-needs-a-plan-to-deal-with-hostile-cyber-campaigns\">Canada needs a plan to deal with hostile cyber campaigns<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/nationalpost.com\/investing\/how-israel-became-a-cybersecurity-power-and-what-canada-can-learn-from-it\/wcm\/6f116400-b952-4dfd-b39c-0e3b981544dc\">How Israel became a cybersecurity power \u2014 and what Canada can learn from it<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/nationalpost.com\/news\/canada\/judge-awards-businessman-2-5-million-for-suffering-hate-speech-at-its-worst\">\u2018Hate speech at its worst\u2019: Ontario restauranteur awarded $2.5M in defamation suit against online media personality<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>There has also been a global push to police online hate after the Christchurch shootings in New Zealand, which targeted Muslims and were livestreamed online. In Paris on WednesdayPrime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Canada will launch a \u201cdigital charter\u201d that will govern how the country fights hate speech and misinformation online. Trudeau was in France for an international summit sparked by the shootings.<\/p>\n<p>After her successful human rights ruling against Whatcott, Oger was in Ottawa to testify at the justice committee on Thursday. She said while her situation rose to the level of criminality, there are countless cases online that tiptoe over the line but never get prosecuted, and argued the situation urgently needs a solution.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo mom wants to sit her children down and say someone wants to hurt her because of who she is,\u201d said Oger, who detailed for the committee the history of harassment and death threats against her sparked by activity online. \u201cCanadians need a civil remedy,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>As the hearing wrapped up, committee chair Anthony Housefather said the committee\u2019s study doesn\u2019t necessarily have to be about policing the issue, but could centre on information-gathering and studying the problem itself. MPs expect to have the reported completed by early June, before the House rises for the summer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As Canadian MPs weigh how to police online hate, one proposes new body to give tickets or warnings to offenders Critics warn that any such system could simply become a mechanism for people to shut down views with which they &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/?p=2867\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2867"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2867"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2867\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2868,"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2867\/revisions\/2868"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2867"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}