At a conference on confronting antisemitism on Monday, Justice Minister Arif Virani repeated a standing promise of the federal Liberal government to combat online harms with new legislation, but offered no timeline.
“We need a safe and secure digital environment as much as we need safe streets in our communities,” Virani said before an audience gathered by the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) in Ottawa.
The Liberals’ initial attempt at tackling online hate came in June 2021, through a bill introduced in the dying days of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s previous government. Bill C-36 died on the order paper when he called an election in August.
Trudeau then promised to introduce new legislation within 100 days of forming a government following that election, but there have been further delays after two rounds of consultations.
The government initially proposed addressing online harm in five different categories: hate speech, terrorist content, incitement to violence, child sexual exploitation and the non-consensual sharing of intimate images.
CIJA is one of many community organizations that have called for government protection against online hate.
“The time to act is now,” CIJA’s vice-president of external affairs Richard Marceau wrote two years ago in an editorial. “We can have legislation that acts as a shield against the dangers of online hate while balancing the right to freedom of expression.”
Virani said his government has found it a challenging balance to strike.
“We’ve got freedom of expression on one hand, which creates a vibrant democracy and allows us to differentiate ourselves from other parts of the world,” he said. “And we’ve got the pressure to ensure that when people are communicating online, they’re not actually targeting groups, they’re not promoting or vilifying groups, promoting hatred or violence against them.”
Asked if the government could introduce the bill before Christmas, Virani said he could not commit to a timeline.
“I’m trying to make sure we see it as soon as possible,” he said.
Heritage Canada was in charge of the previous rounds of consultations. Heritage Minister Pascale Ste-Onge also has told journalists to be on the lookout for new legislation but has not offered a timeline.
Law would be ‘adaptable’: minister
Virani said the legislation would be adaptable and “not etched in stone.”
The government’s previous attempts at policing online hate have led to expressions of concern from tech giants such as Alphabet, Google’s parent company, which is already in a face-off with Ottawa over C-18, the Online News Act.
Google has said such legislation could limit freedom of expression and create a legal framework that could be used to censor political speech in the future.
The social media platform X, known as Twitter at the time of initial consultations in September 2021, suggested in a letter to the federal government that Ottawa could use such legislation to block websites. It compared that prospect to the actions of authoritarian regimes in North Korea and China.
“People around the world have been blocked from accessing Twitter and other services in a similar manner … under the false guise of ‘online safety,’ impeding peoples’ rights to access information online,” the company stated.
Virani said the government would be ready for another fight with tech giants over this bill.
Community groups have asked for online harms legislation in Canada for years, while online companies have expressed concerns about curtailing freedom of speech. (Shutterstock / Empirephotostock)
On the same day Virani made his remarks, CIJA released a report it co-authored with the Network Contagion Research Institute, an organization that analyzes online disinformation and misinformation.
The document compiled hate crime data from police in multiple Canadian cities, including, Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa. It concluded that real-life antisemitic incidents followed a rise in hateful online rhetoric in May 2021, the last time there was conflict between Israel and Hamas prior to last week’s events.
“Our findings highlight a significant uptick in antisemitic and anti-Israel conversations on social media platforms such as Reddit and Twitter, closely aligned with the May 2021 Israel-Gaza conflict,” the report noted.
CIJA has asked for legislation and regulations to compel social media companies to address online hate by imposing penalties for non-compliance, and for the government to regulate both emerging platforms and established social media providers.
The National Council of Canadian Muslims and the Chinese-Canadian National Council for Justice are among the other groups that have called for online harms legislation.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MONTREAL – NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he will not be taking advice from Pierre Poilievre after the Conservative leader challenged him to bring down government.
“I say directly to Pierre Poilievre: I’m not going to listen to you,” said Singh on Wednesday, accusing Poilievre of wanting to take away dental-care coverage from Canadians, among other things.
“I’m not going to listen to your advice. You want to destroy people’s lives, I want to build up a brighter future.”
Earlier in the day, Poilievre challenged Singh to commit to voting non-confidence in the government, saying his party will force a vote in the House of Commons “at the earliest possibly opportunity.”
“I’m asking Jagmeet Singh and the NDP to commit unequivocally before Monday’s byelections: will they vote non-confidence to bring down the costly coalition and trigger a carbon tax election, or will Jagmeet Singh sell out Canadians again?” Poilievre said.
“It’s put up or shut up time for the NDP.”
While Singh rejected the idea he would ever listen to Poilievre, he did not say how the NDP would vote on a non-confidence motion.
“I’ve said on any vote, we’re going to look at the vote and we’ll make our decision. I’m not going to say our decision ahead of time,” he said.
Singh’s top adviser said on Tuesday the NDP leader is not particularly eager to trigger an election, even as the Conservatives challenge him to do just that.
Anne McGrath, Singh’s principal secretary, says there will be more volatility in Parliament and the odds of an early election have risen.
“I don’t think he is anxious to launch one, or chomping at the bit to have one, but it can happen,” she said in an interview.
New Democrat MPs are in a second day of meetings in Montreal as they nail down a plan for how to navigate the minority Parliament this fall.
The caucus retreat comes one week after Singh announced the party has left the supply-and-confidence agreement with the governing Liberals.
It’s also taking place in the very city where New Democrats are hoping to pick up a seat on Monday, when voters go to the polls in Montreal’s LaSalle—Émard—Verdun. A second byelection is being held that day in the Winnipeg riding of Elmwood—Transcona, where the NDP is hoping to hold onto a seat the Conservatives are also vying for.
While New Democrats are seeking to distance themselves from the Liberals, they don’t appear ready to trigger a general election.
Singh signalled on Tuesday that he will have more to say Wednesday about the party’s strategy for the upcoming sitting.
He is hoping to convince Canadians that his party can defeat the federal Conservatives, who have been riding high in the polls over the last year.
Singh has attacked Poilievre as someone who would bring back Harper-style cuts to programs that Canadians rely on, including the national dental-care program that was part of the supply-and-confidence agreement.
The Canadian Press has asked Poilievre’s office whether the Conservative leader intends to keep the program in place, if he forms government after the next election.
With the return of Parliament just days away, the NDP is also keeping in mind how other parties will look to capitalize on the new makeup of the House of Commons.
The Bloc Québécois has already indicated that it’s written up a list of demands for the Liberals in exchange for support on votes.
The next federal election must take place by October 2025 at the latest.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante is defending her decision to turn off comments on her social media accounts — with an announcement on social media.
She posted screenshots to X this morning of vulgar names she’s been called on the platform, and says comments on her posts for months have been dominated by insults, to the point that she decided to block them.
Montreal’s Opposition leader and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association have criticized Plante for limiting freedom of expression by restricting comments on her X and Instagram accounts.
They say elected officials who use social media should be willing to hear from constituents on those platforms.
However, Plante says some people may believe there is a fundamental right to call someone offensive names and to normalize violence online, but she disagrees.
Her statement on X is closed to comments.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
