Experts have labeled a new law in Canada that aims to protect citizens from "hate speech" as the "most Orwellian piece of legislation ever promoted in the West" because it signals harmful restrictions on free speech rights.
The Canadian government proposed its new Online Harms Act C-63 in February to create a baseline to force online platforms to police the content on their platforms.
The government website lists content such as hate speech, child exploitation, the sharing of non-consensual images, incitements to violence, and terrorism – all of which are already illegal in Canada – as content they are cracking down on.
That might seem like a worthy effort to supporters, but experts are warning that the bill also includes "tucked in" provisions that give the police the power to retroactively search the Internet for "hate speech" violations and arrest offenders, even if the offense occurred before the law existed.
Conservative MP Rachael Thomas of Lethbridge explained punishment for offenses includes potential life imprisonment.
My wife wrote to all Canadian MP's about our opposition to the Online Harms Bill C-63. MP Rachael Thomas of Lethbridge is the only one who wrote back ... It is the best written summary of issues I have seen yet. Long, but here it is...
"Thank you for writing to me regarding…
— Mitchio (@theMitchio) April 19, 2024
She adds the legislation puts more power in the hands of the Canadian Human Rights Commission and Canadian Human Rights Tribunal "to make subjective determinations as to what forms of expression constitute hate speech."
"[It] invites the possibility of revenge accusations and the risk of 'thoughtcrime,'" she wrote.
Other experts have weighed in on the legislation saying it crosses the lines of censorship.
"Let's get real. Consider that a wayward 19-year-old painting graffiti who could be accused of being motivated by hatred could now be charged with an offence carrying the possibility of life imprisonment," writes Dwight Newman, Professor of Law at the University of Saskatchewan.
"That wayward youth needs corrective intervention — which might appropriately include a criminal conviction for mischief. But a threat of life imprisonment is totally disproportionate to the offence," he added.
"Under the bill, anyone can accuse you of the 'communication of hate speech' and if the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal finds you guilty it can order you to pay up to $20,000 to 'any victim' and $50,000 to the state (on pain of imprisonment)," explains Toby Young, associate editor of The Spectator.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk says the country's legislation raises a red flag calling it "insane if accurate."
And best-selling author and psychologist Dr. Jordan Peterson responded by saying, "It's much much worse than you have been informed: plans to shackle Canadians electronically if accusers fear a 'hate crime' might (might) be committed."
Mr. Musk@elonmusk
It's much much worse than you have been informed: plans to shackle Canadians electronically if accusers fear a "hate crime" might (might) be committed.
It's the most Orwellian piece of legislation ever promoted in the West:https://t.co/oSqX3pxiBB
— Dr Jordan B Peterson (@jordanbpeterson) May 7, 2024
"It's the most Orwellian piece of legislation ever promoted in the West," he added.
Experts say there have long been signs that Justin Trudeau's Canada was looking to crack down on the country's free speech rights.
Douglas Blair, writer for the Daily Signal, believes Canada is a warning sign "of a frightening new breed of authoritarianism."
"Next on the chopping block appears to be free speech," he wrote in 2022.
Peter Menzies, senior fellow with the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, said the country is "poised to become a global leader in restricting online speech and meddling with news media."
Menzies cites a Twitter report, which calls out the regime's desired "control over internet speech in the name of public safety as similar to authoritarian regimes such as Iran, North Korea, and China."
"[Canadians] will be soon communicating only in manners of which their government approves," he wrote.
Xi Van Fleet, a survivor of Marxist revolutionary Mao Zedong's brutal "Cultural Revolution" in China, said the new legislation is "the most MAOIST piece of legislation ever promoted in the West."
"Orwellian is fictional. Maoism is reality," she added.
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