Rising antisemitism, Islamophobia, homophobia and transphobia have left too many people feeling unsafe in their own communities. The Government of Canada has introduced the Combatting Hate Act to better protect access to places of worship, as well as schools, community centres and other specified places, and to more clearly address and denounce hate-motivated crime.
- Make it a crime to willfully intimidate and obstruct people from accessing places of worship, as well as schools, community centres and other places primarily used by an identifiable group.
- Make hate motivated crime a specific offence, ensuring such conduct is more clearly denounced and that offenders are held accountable.
- Make it a crime to wilfully promote hatred against an identifiable group by displaying certain terrorism or hate symbols in public.
- Codify a definition of 'hatred' to clarify when conduct constitutes a hate crime.
- Streamline the process for prosecuting hate crimes by removing the requirement for Attorney General consent for laying hate propaganda charges.
Intimidation offence
The proposed intimidation offence would make it a crime to engage in any conduct with the intent to make someone afraid, in order to prevent them from accessing a religious or cultural institution and other specified places. This could include threats, acts of violence, or other intimidating behaviour.
The offence would be punishable by a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment, or two years less a day for less serious offences.
Obstruction offence
The proposed obstruction offence would also make it a crime to intentionally obstruct or interfere with another person's lawful access to the same places. This would include, for example, deliberately blocking doors, driveways, or roads that are used to get to religious or cultural centres, or not allowing a person to enter those places.
The offence would be punishable by a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment, or two years less a day for less serious offences.
Places protected by the new intimidation and obstruction offences
The proposed intimidation and obstruction offences would protect buildings or structures that are:
- Primarily used for religious worship (e.g., synagogues, mosques, churches, temples and gurdwaras) or cemeteries.
- Primarily used by an "identifiable group", for administrative, social, cultural, or sports activity purposes, as an educational institution, or as a seniors' residence.
"Identifiable group" is defined as groups distinguished by colour, race, religion, national or ethnic origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or mental or physical disability.
Respecting Charter rights to free expression and peaceful assembly
The Bill is carefully designed to make sure that it does not apply to people who are simply communicating information, peacefully protesting, or otherwise not engaging in criminal activity around religious and cultural centres and other specified places. These changes would not prohibit protest, assembly or unreasonably affect an individual's freedom to voice their concerns in a safe and peaceful manner.
Hate crime offence
The proposed hate crime offence would apply to anyone committing a federal crime that is motivated by hatred based on specific grounds, such as race, sexual orientation, religion or sex.
The penalty for the new hate crime offence would reflect the harm caused by the illegal act, allowing higher maximum penalties for more serious crimes. For example, the offence of uttering threats carries a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment on indictment (a criminal charge for more serious crimes). If prosecuted under the new hate crime offence, the maximum penalty would increase to 10 years on indictment. Sentencing courts must impose a penalty that reflects the seriousness of the offence and the degree of responsibility of the offender.
Hate propaganda offence targeting display of hate or terrorism symbols
The Criminal Code currently contains four hate propaganda offences. The Bill would create a new, fifth hate propaganda offence that would make it a crime to wilfully promote hatred against an identifiable group by publicly displaying certain terrorism or hate symbols, including:
- Symbols principally used by or associated with terrorist entities that are listed under the Criminal Code
- The Nazi Hakenkreuz (also known as the swastika)
- The Nazi double-sig rune (also known as the SS bolts)
Public display of such symbols for legitimate purposes, such as educational, artistic or journalistic purposes would not be captured by this offence. The offence requires the wilfull promotion of hatred against an identifiable group by publicly displaying such symbols.
Definition of "hatred"
The Bill would add a definition of "hatred" to the Criminal Code that is based on Supreme Court of Canada jurisprudence currently followed by courts. The definition focuses on the concepts of detestation or vilification and specifies what is not hatred - namely, mere dislike or disdain, or acts that merely offend or humiliate.
Adding the definition of "hatred" to the Criminal Code would clarify when conduct constitutes a hate crime, promoting a more consistent application of these offences in the criminal justice system.
Streamline the process to lay hate propaganda charges
The Bill would remove the requirement for Attorney General consent to lay charges for any hate propaganda offence, streamlining the process for law enforcement to more effectively address such cases. By removing this step, law enforcement would be able to act quickly to counter hate speech and protect communities.
Additional Resources
News Release:
- Canada introduces legislation to combat hate crimes, intimidation, and obstruction
