The International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group (ICLMG) is alarmed that new legislation aimed at preventing hate crimes instead threatens the Charter rights and civil liberties of all people in Canada, including those communities that the government wishes to help protect.

“While we agree that the Canadian government must take action to protect people in Canada, including against hate-based incidents, the provisions of Bill C-9, the proposed Combatting Hate Act, will create a chill against protest and dissent, and risk the criminalization of free expression and free assembly in Canada,” said Tim McSorley, national coordinator of the ICLMG.

New provisions in the bill would outlaw the display of symbols associated with listed terrorist entities. The listing of terrorist entities is secretive, politicized, discretionary and violates due process. It has been used to target groups that have fought for rights of self-determination and against occupation, all while Canadian governments have failed to act against the much more prevalent and deadly violence enacted by states. Based on these concerns, among others, the ICLMG coalition has called for the terror entities list to be abolished, and opposes the creation of new laws that use the terrorist entities list as their basis. 

Furthermore, giving police the ability to discern what symbols are associated with a terrorist entity grants enormous discretionary power. Already, political and cultural symbols associated with Palestinian culture and human rights, including the keffiyeh, have illegitimately been associated with terrorist entities or hate. These new provisions would be a license for police to detain people first, and ask questions later, during protests and other gatherings, further undermining freedom of assembly and free expression.

New offenses in Bill C-9 regarding obstruction and intimidation in proximity to certain places, including places of religious worship, schools, community and sports centres, raise similar concerns. The Criminal Code already allows for police to act on the basis of mischief, intimidation, harassment, or threats. As we have seen across the country, especially in regards to protests in support of Palestinian rights, police have more than enough powers to disrupt protests on a wide range of grounds, and in fact have often engaged in over enforcement, demonstrated by the myriad of charges that have been dropped, as well as the violent dismantling of peaceful encampments. All of this makes clear that these new powers are unnecessary. Moreover, the broad wording would empower police to take discretionary action based on how they interpret the intent of protesters – not protesters’ actions. 

Bill C-9’s removal of the existing requirements for attorney general approval of laying hate propaganda charges, allowing police to make these decisions, compound these concerns. 

The proposed new offences would carry significant penalties, including the threat of jail time, and will result in people who would ordinarily take action to speak out on important social issues refraining from doing so under the fear of being trapped in the dragnet of additional, unclear and broad discretionary powers. If that is not the government’s intent, we urge it to withdraw this bill in favour of approaches that both protect vulnerable communities and ensure the protection of Charter rights and civil liberties in Canada.

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