Canadian Hate Laws
Canadian hate laws are designed to address and penalize hate speech that incites hatred against identifiable groups. One of the key legal provisions is section 281.2 of the Criminal Code of Canada, enacted in 1969, which criminalizes the public communication of statements that incite hatred and are likely to disrupt public peace. Notably, cases such as those involving Jim Keegstra and Ernst Zundel have brought significant attention to these laws, highlighting the tension between protecting free speech and preventing hate speech. Keegstra, a teacher, was convicted for promoting anti-Semitic views in the classroom, while Zundel faced legal challenges for disseminating false information targeting Jewish communities.
In addition to the Criminal Code, the Canadian Human Rights Act included section 13, which addressed hate speech communicated via telephone or the internet, though it was criticized and eventually repealed in 2012. The enforcement and interpretation of these laws reflect ongoing debates about balancing civil liberties with the need to protect marginalized communities from harm. Overall, Canadian hate laws represent a complex interplay between legal frameworks and societal values regarding discrimination and freedom of expression.
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Subject Terms
Canadian Hate Laws
Definition: Section of the Criminal Code of Canada placing restrictions on certain kinds of expression
Significance: This federal law has been used to prosecute persons accused of wilfully inciting hatred of identifiable groups
Section 281.2 of the Criminal Code of Canada, which was passed in 1969, makes it a crime for anyone “who, by communicating statements in any public place, incites hatred against any identifiable group where such incitement is likely to lead to a breach of the peace.” Since the law’s enactment, there have been few prosecutions. Two cases, however, have earned considerable notoriety; both have involved charges of anti-Semitism.
During the mid 1980s, an Alberta social studies teacher named Jim Keegstra, was tried and convicted under the 1969 law for knowingly promoting hatred against Jews. What made Keegstra’s case unique was that he regularly expressed his anti-Semitic views as part of the history lessons that he daily gave. Essays written by his students that were entered as evidence during his trial recounted bizarre anti-Semitic conspiracy theories surrounding famous historical events. Keegstra appealed his conviction, which was overturned in 1988. The province of Alberta’s Court of Appeal ruled that section 281.2 was unconstitutional because its scope was too broad. The provincial government appealed the decision to the Supreme Court of Canada which, by a four-to-three vote, upheld the antihate laws on the grounds that even though the law did infringe on freedom of speech in Canada, such a restriction benefitted society. The court also reinstated Keegstra’s conviction. The Alberta government tried him a second time and once again the former school teacher was convicted. For a second time, however, he appealed and in 1994 a higher court again overturned the conviction on a technicality. The province then appealed the case to the Supreme Court of Canada.
Ernst Zundel, a Toronto publisher, had a long career as an anti-Semitic propagandist before being charged in the early 1980s under the “false news” provision of the Criminal Code of Canada (section 177). This law, which dated back to the 1890s, made it illegal knowingly to publish false information in an effort to single out a particular group. Zundel was charged under this provision instead of section 281.2 because a survivor of the Holocaust swore out a complaint under the former. After a highly publicized trial, Zundel was convicted and sentenced to fifteen months in prison.
Zundel eventually launched an appeal of his conviction. The case slowly progressed through the Canadian legal system until reaching the Supreme Court of Canada in 1995. By another four-to-three vote the court quashed Zundel’s conviction on the grounds that the “false news” law violated freedom of speech under Canada’s Charter of Rights. Zundel celebrated briefly because in November, 1995, the same Holocaust survivor again swore out a charge against him. This time, however, it was under the previously upheld hate laws section of the criminal code.
Another law dealing with hate speech, as a civil rather than a criminal issue, was section 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act, which was intended to prevent "communication of hate messages by telephone or internet" (hate messages being defined as those "likely to expose" an identifiable group to "hatred or contempt") under penalty of a fine. Section 13 was first challenged in 1990, but was found by the Supreme Court to be constitutional at that time. In the early 2000s, a complaint was made against white supremacist Marc Lemire under section 13 for the content of his website, Freedom-Site, and other sites that he hosted. Lemire filed a Notice of Constitutional Question in 2005 arguing that section 13 was unconstitutional, but though the case and Lemire's challenge to the law garnered media attention, section 13 remained on the books. In 2008, Canada's only national news magazine, the right-wing Maclean's, published an opinion piece portraying Muslims as jihadist hordes in the process of taking over Europe, and complaints were filed against the magazine under section 13, leading to controversy. The Canadian Human Rights Commission had University of Windsor law professor Richard Moon prepare a report on section 13 later that year; Moon suggested repealing the section and leaving hate speech as a criminal matter limited to cases where there was incitement to violence. Section 13 was repealed in 2012 by a private members bill in Parliament (although despite the repeal, the judge in Lemire's case ruled against him in 2014).
Bibliography
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