Thought crimes are poised to become law in Canada via Justin Trudeau’s Online Harms Act, currently before parliament.
In the short story, “Minority Report,” made famous by Tom Cruise’s movie of the same name, Anderton tells Witwer, “Precrime has cut down felonies by ninety-nine and decimal point eight percent,” praising the program because, “we seldom get actual murder or treason” any longer.
In the story, actual crimes were prevented by the prosecution of a person’s thoughts; thoughts that might lead to a future crime.
The Online Harms Act, if passed into law, provides the mechanism to “prove” your guilt before you ever commit an illegal act.
Imagine.
You haven’t committed a crime. You haven’t even said something yet, but someone claims they “fear” – to use the language of the Act – that you might say something, sometime, that could, “promote genocide, hate or anti-semitism online.”
The complainant’s fear – rational or not – of what you might say at some nebulous future point, gives the judge authority to strip you of your Charter-protected rights.
We witnessed the federal government seize bank accounts of ordinary Canadians for publicly expressing their opinion – a right supposedly guaranteed by our Charter of Rights and Freedoms – about COVID lockdowns.
Now Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government – “the party of the Charter” as they like to claim – wants to shred that document even further.
What is the Problem Bill C-63 Supposedly Solves?
The Trudeau government wants you to believe that unless the Online Harms Act is passed, Canadians are at grave risk from
- Someone sharing intimate images without consent;
- Criminal bullying;
- Someone inciting violence against a specific race, creed or religious belief; or
- The distribution of child pornography and other obscene material.
The Trudeau government is lying to you.
Canada’s Criminal Code already contains provisions that address every one of these issues. More laws that duplicate existing laws are a sad substitute for effective law enforcement.
So why does Justin Trudeau want to make it “more illegal” to commit acts that are already codified criminal offences?
Fear Causes Self-Censorship
The threat of being bankrupted by the government over a thought you might share some day will prevent most people from saying what they believe.
A person too terrified to speak is a person who is easily controlled.
But the Government is Splitting Bill C-63 in Two. Won’t That Solve the Problem?
The Trudeau government announced they intend to split Bill C-63 into two separate bills.
According to Justice Minister Arif Virani, Part 1 and 4 of Bill C-63 will form a new piece of proposed legislation that will be prioritized in Parliament; Parts 2 and 3 of C-63 will form a second bill. The new bills would be on two different legislative tracks.
“This would allow necessary protections for children to be studied and voted on separately from worrying new provisions that would create new speech crimes and give new powers to the Canadian Human Rights Commission to police online comments. However, the CCF remains concerned about the free expression implications of both proposed bills.”[i]
Part 3 is the section that seeks to revive Section 13 of the Human Rights Act that was repealed by the Harper government in 2014.
If you were accused under Section 13, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal found you guilty – without exception. Their conviction rate was 100%.
Now the Trudeau government wants to bring that terrible law back in its effort to control what you say online.
Will you dare post something on Facebook when you know that a single anonymous accuser might complain and, with that complaint, destroy your life?
With potential penalties of $70,000 for each complaint, can you afford to take the chance?
“We think that Parts 2 and 3, the criminal and human rights penalties for speech, should be killed entirely,” said Christine Van Geyn, Litigation Director for the CCF.
“If these speech infringing amendments do pass, creating the threat of life imprisonment for speech crimes and allowing for ankle monitors to be imposed on individuals for future speech crimes, the CCF would strongly consider a constitutional challenge.”
Learn More about Bill C-63’s Proposed Limitations On Your Rights
The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) published an “Online Harms Act Quiz” to test your knowledge of the freedom-destroying measures Justin Trudeau has in store for us.
Access the JCCF quiz here: https://www.jccf.ca/online-harms-act-quiz/
Write Your MP to Fix the Online Harms Act
The Canadian Constitution Foundation (CCF) is deeply concerned that the Online Harms Act will significantly hinder your write to free expression, a right that is supposedly protected by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.Tell your Member of Parliament to stop this proposed legislation today. You can send a letter to your MP directly, or use the form on the CCF’s website: https://theccf.ca/fix-c-63/
