Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet on Tuesday stated the need for Parliament to safeguard Canadian Jews from those who spread hatred.According to Blacklock’s Reporter, Blanchet proposed a bill to strengthen the laws against spreading hate in the Criminal Code.“It is high time for someone to take action,” said Blanchet. “I call on this House to support the bill to avoid the spread of hatred and anti-Semitism.”Bill C-367 An Act to Amend the Criminal Code would repeal sections 319.3.1 and 319.3.b of the current law to eliminate as a defence against prohibited hate speech any “opinion based on a belief in a religious text.” After an incident on October 28, when a director of the Assahaba Islamic Centre in Montreal openly wished death toward Jewish people while pretending to recite a Quran prayer.Blanchet earlier read the prayer into the Commons record: “O Allah, destroy the Zionist aggressors. O Allah, destroy the enemies of the people of Gaza. O Allah, count their number, slay them one by one and spare not one of them.”“We all live together in society and that comes at a price,” said Blanchet. “There is a price to living in harmony in a society and the price may be to withhold undue and inappropriate rights and privileges from some people in society, people who disrupt peace and harmony, especially if those privileges enables them to sow hatred, even to wish death upon others by invoking some divine power. This should be even truer in a state that claims to be secular.”Blanchet on Tuesday told Commons Question Period that anti-Semitic incidents were out of hand. “We have heard gunshots in Montréal,” he said. “Glass has been shattered. There has been graffiti and it has all been directed at the Jewish community. We fear these acts were incited by a Criminal Code exemption that allows hate speech.”“Will the prime minister agree to repeal the religious exemption under the Criminal Code?” asked Blanchet. “We will look at the bill to see whether that could help fight hate and incitements to violence,” replied Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.“Will the prime minister agree to move swiftly in passing this bill?” asked Blanchet. “We will take a close look at the proposed legislation,” replied Trudeau. “We will be there to work together to protect Canadians while respecting the free society we live in.”MPs have expressed outrage over anti-Semitic incidents following the October 7 Hamas killings and kidnappings of Jews in Israel. Offences included shots fired at a Jewish home in Winnipeg, street boycotts of Jewish shops in Toronto and the attempted firebombing of synagogues and Jewish kindergartens in Montréal.“What is the point of Canada’s hate propaganda laws if they are not enforced?” Independent MP Kevin Vuong (Spadina-Fort York, ON) earlier asked the Commons. “We are seeing on streets across Canada pro-Hamas rallies calling for the boycotting or swarming of businesses just because they are owned by Jews. That is repulsive.”
Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet on Tuesday stated the need for Parliament to safeguard Canadian Jews from those who spread hatred.According to Blacklock’s Reporter, Blanchet proposed a bill to strengthen the laws against spreading hate in the Criminal Code.“It is high time for someone to take action,” said Blanchet. “I call on this House to support the bill to avoid the spread of hatred and anti-Semitism.”Bill C-367 An Act to Amend the Criminal Code would repeal sections 319.3.1 and 319.3.b of the current law to eliminate as a defence against prohibited hate speech any “opinion based on a belief in a religious text.” After an incident on October 28, when a director of the Assahaba Islamic Centre in Montreal openly wished death toward Jewish people while pretending to recite a Quran prayer.Blanchet earlier read the prayer into the Commons record: “O Allah, destroy the Zionist aggressors. O Allah, destroy the enemies of the people of Gaza. O Allah, count their number, slay them one by one and spare not one of them.”“We all live together in society and that comes at a price,” said Blanchet. “There is a price to living in harmony in a society and the price may be to withhold undue and inappropriate rights and privileges from some people in society, people who disrupt peace and harmony, especially if those privileges enables them to sow hatred, even to wish death upon others by invoking some divine power. This should be even truer in a state that claims to be secular.”Blanchet on Tuesday told Commons Question Period that anti-Semitic incidents were out of hand. “We have heard gunshots in Montréal,” he said. “Glass has been shattered. There has been graffiti and it has all been directed at the Jewish community. We fear these acts were incited by a Criminal Code exemption that allows hate speech.”“Will the prime minister agree to repeal the religious exemption under the Criminal Code?” asked Blanchet. “We will look at the bill to see whether that could help fight hate and incitements to violence,” replied Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.“Will the prime minister agree to move swiftly in passing this bill?” asked Blanchet. “We will take a close look at the proposed legislation,” replied Trudeau. “We will be there to work together to protect Canadians while respecting the free society we live in.”MPs have expressed outrage over anti-Semitic incidents following the October 7 Hamas killings and kidnappings of Jews in Israel. Offences included shots fired at a Jewish home in Winnipeg, street boycotts of Jewish shops in Toronto and the attempted firebombing of synagogues and Jewish kindergartens in Montréal.“What is the point of Canada’s hate propaganda laws if they are not enforced?” Independent MP Kevin Vuong (Spadina-Fort York, ON) earlier asked the Commons. “We are seeing on streets across Canada pro-Hamas rallies calling for the boycotting or swarming of businesses just because they are owned by Jews. That is repulsive.”
