OTTAWA — The federal government recently introduced Bill C-9 – An Act to amend the Criminal Code (hate propaganda, hate crime and access to religious or cultural places) – with the declared intent to make Canadians safer. Instead, this legislative proposal creates new criminal laws that risk serious and unjustified infringements on Charter-protected fundamental freedoms, including the criminalization of peaceful protest.
Today, 37 civil society organizations signed a joint letter urging the government to reverse course on Bill C-9 and to instead pursue community-based approaches that protect vulnerable groups without compromising the rights and freedoms of people in Canada.
The new intimidation offence is so broadly and vaguely defined that it could lead to the suppression of constitutionally protected expression and peaceful assembly. Ironically, this new offence could prevent workers and members of marginalized groups from protesting outside of their own institutions, thereby depriving people of opportunities to express dissent in situations where they face power imbalances.
“Bill C-9 risks criminalizing peaceful protests near tens of thousands of locations in Canada”, said Anaïs Bussières McNicoll, Director of the Fundamental Freedoms Program at the Canadian Civil Liberties Association. “In doing so, this Bill would disproportionately harm the very communities it purports to protect. We urge the government to reverse course on Bill C-9.”
Signatories are also highlighting that the proposed section that would criminalize the wilful promotion of hatred through the public display of certain terrorism or hate symbols lack clear and meaningful safeguards. As written, this provision could criminalize peaceful protesters, in part because listing organizations on Canada’s terror list is a process that lacks transparency and offers limited avenues of appeal.
Furthermore, the removal of the long-standing requirement that the Attorney General consent to hate propaganda charges eliminates a key institutional check. This increases the risk of arbitrary, inconsistent or selective enforcement, especially against equity-deserving groups who have historically been subject to excessive surveillance and policing of their expression.
By layering additional liability on existing safeguards, the new hate crime offence risks leading to excessive and disproportionate sentencing. Here again, the biases inherent in the police use of discretion may lead to discrepancies in the selection of which cases are investigated and charged as hate crimes, to the detriment of some racialized and marginalized groups.
“Civil society groups from all walks of life are joining forces to express their deep concerns about Bill C-9,” said Howard Sapers, Executive Director at the Canadian Civil Liberties Association. “Many signatories are looking forward to raising these crucial issues with the members of the Standing Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs tasked with studying this Bill.”
Read the full letter here.
List of Signatories:
- Arab Canadian Lawyers Association
- Association des juristes progressistes du Québec
- Black Legal Action Centre
- British Columbia Civil Liberties Association
- Canadian Civil Liberties Association
- Canadian Labour Congress
- Canadian Muslim Lawyers Association
- Canadian Muslim Public Affairs Council
- Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME)
- Centre for Free Expression
- Chinese and Southeast Asian Legal Clinic
- Coalition for Charter Rights and Freedoms
- Democracy Watch
- Etobicoke South for Palestine
- Horizon Ottawa
- Independent Jewish Voices
- Institute for the Humanities, Simon Fraser University
- International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group
- Jewish Faculty Network
- Just Peace Advocates/Mouvement Pour Une Paix Juste
- Ligue des droits et libertés
- OCASI – Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants
- Open Media
- Pax Christi Toronto
- Progress Toronto
- Saskatoon Chapter of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East
- Science for the People Canada
- Seniors For Climate Action Now!
- South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario
- Spadina-Fort York for Palestine
- The Canadian BDS Coalition and International BDS Allies
- Toronto & York Region Labour Council
- Toronto Environmental Alliance
- Toronto Palestinian Families
- TTCriders
- Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund
- York University Professors for Palestine
Additional signatories
38. Amnistie internationale (Canada francophone)
39. Community Justice Collective
40. Law Union of Ontario
41. Jews Say No to Genocide
42. United Network for Justice and Peace in Palestine and Israel (UNJPPI)
About the Canadian Civil Liberties Association
The CCLA is an independent, non-profit organization with supporters from across the country. Founded in 1964, the CCLA is a national human rights organization committed to defending the rights, dignity, safety, and freedoms of all people in Canada.
For the Media
For further comments, please contact us at media@ccla.org.
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