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The Senate of Canada rejected on Wednesday, with a vote of 32-41, its human rights committee’s proposed amendment to include a residential school denialism offense in the contentious hate crime bill.
The Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights returned its report with amendments to the Senate on Tuesday. One main amendment added a residential school denialism offense, which carries a maximum two-year imprisonment upon conviction on indictment. Pierre Moreau, government representative in the Senate, said the amendment came without a thorough study of its legal effect or meaningful consultation with the First Nations and Inuit Peoples. He emphasized that addressing residential school denialism “must be done in the right way, grounded in a comprehensive and respectful consultation process.”
On the other hand, Nancy Karetak-Lindell, a member of the Senate committee, supported the amendment. She maintained that residential school denialism is intended to promote hatred and must be addressed. Karetak-Lindell clarified that truth remains a complete defense: a Survivor does not commit an offense by speaking of their lived experience in the belief that residential school is beneficial to them.
Moreau also voiced concern that the amendment to include a statutory defense would create confusion about the hate crime bill. The original bill criminalized intimidation that impedes a person’s lawful access to a religious or cultural institution. The committee proposed a defense of approaching the institution with the sole purpose of obtaining or communicating information. Moreau said the defense is redundant because the offense will not have caught those people in the first place. He maintained that the intent to provoke a state of fear in another person is a high threshold for the prosecution to meet.
More broadly known as the Combatting Hate Act, Bill C-9 seeks to amend the Criminal Code to ensure safe access to religious and cultural institutions. The bill, if enacted in its current form, also outlaws the display of symbols of listed terrorist groups and the Nazi swastika. Opposition criticized that the bill violates the freedom of speech and religion by criminalizing sections of the Bible and other religious texts. However, the federal Minister of Justice Sean Fraser has previously maintained that practicing one’s religion can never constitute a hate crime.
Just on May 31, an international tribunal found that Canada has not complied with its international obligation to ensure effective remedies, such as a thorough investigation, for residential school Survivors and their families. This echoes with the BC Assembly of First Nations’ call to criminalize residential school denialism in 2025.
Amnesty International also urged Canada to address the escalating online hate speech. The group observed that there was an increase in xenophobia, misogyny and racism in the country.
The bill now reaches the third reading stage at the Senate without the human rights committee’s proposed amendment.
The post Canada Senate rejects to include residential school denialism offense in hate crime bill appeared first on JURIST - News.
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The Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights returned its report with amendments to the Senate on Tuesday. One main amendment added a residential school denialism offense, which carries a maximum two-year imprisonment upon conviction on indictment. Pierre Moreau, government representative in the Senate, said the amendment came without a thorough study of its legal effect or meaningful consultation with the First Nations and Inuit Peoples. He emphasized that addressing residential school denialism “must be done in the right way, grounded in a comprehensive and respectful consultation process.”
On the other hand, Nancy Karetak-Lindell, a member of the Senate committee, supported the amendment. She maintained that residential school denialism is intended to promote hatred and must be addressed. Karetak-Lindell clarified that truth remains a complete defense: a Survivor does not commit an offense by speaking of their lived experience in the belief that residential school is beneficial to them.
Moreau also voiced concern that the amendment to include a statutory defense would create confusion about the hate crime bill. The original bill criminalized intimidation that impedes a person’s lawful access to a religious or cultural institution. The committee proposed a defense of approaching the institution with the sole purpose of obtaining or communicating information. Moreau said the defense is redundant because the offense will not have caught those people in the first place. He maintained that the intent to provoke a state of fear in another person is a high threshold for the prosecution to meet.
More broadly known as the Combatting Hate Act, Bill C-9 seeks to amend the Criminal Code to ensure safe access to religious and cultural institutions. The bill, if enacted in its current form, also outlaws the display of symbols of listed terrorist groups and the Nazi swastika. Opposition criticized that the bill violates the freedom of speech and religion by criminalizing sections of the Bible and other religious texts. However, the federal Minister of Justice Sean Fraser has previously maintained that practicing one’s religion can never constitute a hate crime.
Just on May 31, an international tribunal found that Canada has not complied with its international obligation to ensure effective remedies, such as a thorough investigation, for residential school Survivors and their families. This echoes with the BC Assembly of First Nations’ call to criminalize residential school denialism in 2025.
Amnesty International also urged Canada to address the escalating online hate speech. The group observed that there was an increase in xenophobia, misogyny and racism in the country.
The bill now reaches the third reading stage at the Senate without the human rights committee’s proposed amendment.
The post Canada Senate rejects to include residential school denialism offense in hate crime bill appeared first on JURIST - News.
Continue reading...
Note: We don't have any responsibilities about this news. Its been posted here by Feed Reader and we had no controls and checking on it. And because News posted here will be deleted automatically after 21 days, threads are closed so that no one spend time to post and discuss here. You can always check the source and discuss in their site.