Suddenly, the punitive damages are focused on individual Canadian citizens, while mainstream intentionally down-play the development.
June 24, 2021
The Trudeau government is proposing legal changes to reduce online hate speech, making it easier for the victims of hate speech to launch complaints.
According to CBC News, Bill C-36“includes an addition to the Canadian Human Rights Act that the government says will clarify the definition of online hate speech and list it as a form of discrimination.”
Evan Balgord from the Canadian Anti-Hate Network said the bill largely addresses the gap that was left when Section 13 was repealed.
Section 13 was a provision of the Canadian Human Rights Act dealing with hate messages. The provision prohibited online communications which were “likely to expose a person or persons to hatred or contempt” on the basis of a prohibited ground of discrimination such as race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, etc.”
Complaints under this section were brought to the Canadian Human Rights Commission. If the Commission found sufficient evidence, the case would be heard by the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal.
Section 13 was repealed by Stephen Harper’s Conservative government in June 2013. This followed a campaign when a group of young Muslim law students attempted to use the human rights system to challenge alleged Islamophobia as communicated The Rebel founder Ezra Levant and American activist Mark Steyn.
What is interesting in this scenario relates to culpability regarding hate speech in Canada. Throughout the process, Liberal Heritage Minister Stephen Guilbeault has emphasized a focus on the “major players” — Facebook, Netflix, Google and several others. According to media presentation, the bill is aimed at a retention of Canadian culture through an elevation of domestic content. The degree of punitive damages toward individuals were to fall between minimal and nothing at all.
Fascinating it is to discover what CBC News are now reporting regarding a bill recently tabled by the Trudeau government:
Bill C-36 includes an addition to the Canadian Human Rights Act that the government says “will clarify the definition of online hate speech and list it as a form of discrimination.”
“In cases in which the hate speech specifically identifies a victim, the person responsible could be ordered to pay the victim up to $20,000.” A person who refuses to stop expressing hate speech could also be ordered to pay a fine of up to $50,000.”
To quote a scene from Austin Powers, “Why won’t you die?”