Federal Justice Minister Arif Virani says safeguards in his bill to combat online hate will prevent the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) from being overwhelmed by a mountain of complaints from citizens who disagree on what constitutes hateful content.
The legislative document, C-63, plans to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act to define publishing hate speech as discrimination. If the bill is passed in its current form, people who feel they are victims of online hate will have to file a complaint with the CHRC in the hope that the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal will rule in their favor.
The sections of C-63 on this subject revisit a legislative provision that was deleted by the former Conservative government of Stephen Harper.
“What we heard is that, at the time, when it existed, […] they said that, yes, there were a lot of complaints and it was difficult to manage all the complaints,” Minister Virani said of the CHRC during a recent interview with The Canadian Press.
He assured that Justin Trudeau’s government has adjusted its course with its bill. “We listened to that and we implemented improvements,” he maintained.
Among the adjustments he listed, Mr. Virani affirmed that the definition of hateful content enshrined in C-63 is “completely clear” and “linked to case law”, mentioning that it has been used by the Supreme Court since 2013 .
The bill establishes that “hate-promoting content” is that which “expresses hatred towards an individual or group of individuals or manifests defamation towards them and which, taking into account the context in which it is communicated, is likely to foment hatred or defamation of an individual or group of individuals on the basis of such an unlawful ground of discrimination,” it can be read.
It is specified that content cannot be considered hateful “for the sole reason that it expresses disdain or aversion or that it discredits, humiliates, hurts or offends”.
Since tabling C-63 at the end of February, the Liberals have faced a wave of criticism from many people who fear that their freedom of expression will be limited. The famous writer Margaret Atwood relayed such fears on the social network X.
It was because of similar concerns that the former Harper government eliminated what was formerly section 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act.
Virani multiplies the outings
Convinced that his overhaul of the old legislative provisions does not infringe on freedom of expression, Mr. Virani has been making numerous statements since the end of February to insist on what, in his opinion, the bill does not contain. This could suggest that he is spending less time emphasizing what C-63 does include.
“For me, it was necessary to explain […] repeatedly what we do not do just to emphasize that it is a fairly measured approach, fairly appropriate, fairly linked to our own rights here in Canada and our protections which are protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms,” he summarized during the telephone interview.
The minister added that the definition chosen “is not mine, that of Justin Trudeau or that of our Liberal cabinet,” repeating that it comes from the highest court in the country.
Mr. Virani maintains that the CHRC will be able to “summarily reject” complaints “from the start of the process if what is the subject of the complaint does not touch on the definition of hatred”.
The minister also pointed out a provision giving the commission the latitude to dismiss a complaint because the report is deemed “futile, vexatious or tainted in bad faith”.
In addition, costs may be demanded “against a person who abused the commission process,” noted the minister.
Mr. Virani said he was receptive to any requests for additional resources that the CCDP might make to him.
The Liberals have been promising to legislate against harmful content online since the 2019 federal election campaign.
Since its tabling, Bill C-63 has barely progressed through its study by parliamentarians. Mr. Virani blames the conservatives, whom he accuses of blocking the progress of the legislative study.
On this subject, a spokesperson for the Conservative leader said last week that the agreement that the Liberals have with the NDP allows them to prioritize or thwart any legislation as they wish, “contrary to their whining.”
The parliamentary leader of the New Democrats, Peter Julian, for his part believes that any delay is attributable to Justin Trudeau.
The Bloc Québécois requested in vain that the bill be split so that other sections of the legislative proposal aimed at protecting minors from online sexual exploitation could be adopted quickly since, according to the political party, these elements are a consensus, unlike those relating to hateful publications.
With information from Stephanie Taylor
