The federal government is introducing new legislation that would create “a new crime of hate” in the Criminal Code, outlaw the promotion of hateful symbols like the Nazi swastika that cause harm, and protect religious institutions from “obstruction and intimidation,” Justice Minister Sean Fraser announced Friday.
The long-promised hate crime bill is the first major legislative move by Canada’s attorney general for the fall sitting of Parliament, which is already being dominated by the issue of combating crime.
“One of the great promises of Canada is the ability of our citizens to live freely in their communities, regardless of the colour of their skin, the god they pray to, or the person that they love,” Fraser told reporters in Ottawa.
“Sadly, too many Canadians are robbed of these freedoms that so many of us take for granted. Frankly, the prevalence of hate crimes in this country that steal those freedoms are something that should shock the conscience of every Canadian.” “Those who spread hate and violence in our communities will have no safe harbor in Canada,” Prime Minister Mark Carney wrote on social media. The minister was quick to tell reporters in a press conference that the bill upholds free speech values and won’t target symbols that certain groups have called hateful, such as the Palestinian flag.Yet he could not give assurances that law enforcement and prosecutors will always be able to clearly make that distinction in real time, only that additional training may be needed, particularly surrounding what counts as using a listed symbol to promote hatred.
“It’s not lost on me that we are in new territory, and sometimes there may be a learning curve with the adoption of these new laws,” he said.
“So we’re going to work alongside our provincial counterparts and with law enforcement to ensure that they have the tools that they need.” In response to an increase in hate-motivated incidents, the legislation comes as police forces in jurisdictions like British Columbia expand their hate crime units. Although Statistics Canada reported a slight increase in the number of police-reported hate crimes last year, with 4,882 incidents compared to 4,828 in 2023, attacks against Jewish people made up the vast majority of crimes against religious groups, with 920 incidents reported to police last year.
What would the legislation do?
The bill, if passed into law, would create four new criminal offences, including a specific criminal offence of hate that could be applied when a crime is committed specifically because of motivation of hatred toward a victim.Fraser likened the new charge to an aggravating factor applied in the prosecution of a criminal act.
Fraser stated, “This behavior is not just morally culpable if a person robs a store because the owner comes from a particular group, or if a person commits harassment against someone who is seeking to attend university classes merely because they belong to a particular community of faith or race.” “The impact has ripple effects throughout a community and, I would argue, tears at the social fabric of the nation,”
Ottawa hate crime bill would outlaw ‘hateful’ displays of certain symbols
