The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) has initiated a petition to halt the Online Harms Act (OHA) because it threatens freedom of expression. “Canadians’ online expression should not be censored unless it violates the Criminal Code,” said the JCCF in a Thursday petition. “No Canadian should face an anonymous human rights complaint for what they have said.”While the Canadian government might be afraid of people making hateful comments, the JCCF said no one should be hauled before a court or punished for them. It added no Canadian should face life imprisonment for expressing an opinion. “We, the undersigned, call upon Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada Arif Virani and all Parliamentarians, to stop the Online Harms Act,” it said. The Canadian government upped the ante at stopping online hate by introducing the OHA in the House of Commons on Monday. READ MORE: UPDATED: Liberals introduce ‘online harms’ legislationIt presented a broadened, controversial definition of what constitutes hate speech and proposed amendments to the Criminal Code of Canada for violations. Users would be able to file complaints to the Canadian Human Rights Commission. It would see the establishment of a five-member digital safety commission to order the removal of online content sexualizing children or sexual violence victims and sexual content posted without consent.
