The Death of Free Speech in Canada By Chris Knight (Florida)
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, perhaps the biological son of Castro, certainly an ideological son, has moved forward with the toughest race hate legislation in the world, something far beyond what was found in the USSR in its early days. The Online Harms Act (Bill C-63) will have a prison sentence of life. As with all these tyrannical Bills, they always introduce it as if it as in the public interest, to "save the children." For example, Justice Minister Arif Virani who introduced the Bill, took the "save the children" line. The Bill would address the dangers children would face online. There is no doubt that some aspects of the Bill would address harms to children online, but it does this by essentially eliminating free speech as critics have objected. In short, the Bill vastly overshoots.
Whether a constitutional and Human Rights Act challenge can be made is a good question, and hopefully the Bill, as an Act, will be legally challenged.
"A proposed law in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Canada will reportedly allow judges to throw adults in jail for life if they advocate for genocide online.
Fox News reported Thursday that the Online Harms Act (Bill C-63) would permit life sentences. The article also said, "The law would also allow a provincial judge to impose house arrest and a fine if there were reasonable grounds to believe a defendant 'will commit' an offense."
After Justice Minister Arif Virani introduced the bill, he said that in his role as a father, he was frightened of the dangers children might encounter online.
Virani also said there were laws regulating the safety of toys but not screens.
Social media users quickly shared their thoughts on the Fox report, one person writing, "Rest in peace free speech."
Another person levied a criticism of the prime minister, stating, "Trudeau becomes dictator in Canada."
Per the Government of Canada's webpage, Bill C-63 was introduced in late February to create the Online Harms Act.
The site said it was a "baseline standard for online platforms to keep Canadians safe—to hold online platforms accountable for the content they host."
"Bill C-63 will create stronger protections for kids online and better safeguard everyone in Canada from online hate. The bill sets out a new vision for safer and more inclusive participation online," the webpage continued:
"The proposed Online Harms Act would specifically target seven types of harmful content":
Content that sexually victimizes a child or revictimizes a survivor;
Intimate content communicated without consent;
Content used to bully a child;
Content that induces a child to harm themselves;
Content that foments hatred;
Content that incites violence; and
Content that incites violent extremism or terrorism.
It is important to note that a recent survey found that less than half of Canadians think the plan to regulate social media will result in a safer atmosphere online, CTV News reported Wednesday.
When the polling firm Leger asked respondents about the Online Harms Act, half "said they are wary of the government's ability to protect free speech, and a majority said they support the controversial proposal to introduce stiffer sentences for hate speech crimes," the article stated."
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