Liberal-appointed Sen. Kris Wells on Tuesday said a group of “interested senators” would like to see a third attempt at regulating the internet, according to Blacklock’s Reporter. The prime minister has favoured censorship of what he called “pollution that’s online.”“In the last Parliament the government proposed important changes to the Criminal Code of Canada designed to strengthen penalties for hate crime offences,” said Wells. Bill C-63 An Act To Enact The Online Harms Act would have censored legal internet content considered “likely to foment detestation or vilification of an individual or group” with the Canadian Human Rights Commission mandated to investigate complaints..Bill C-63 lapsed in the Commons last January 6. A similar 2021 measure Bill C-36 lapsed with that year’s general election.“Bill C-63 did not come to a vote in the other place and in the dying days of the last Parliament the government signalled it would be prioritizing other aspects of the bill,” said Wells.“I believe Canada must get tougher on hate and send a clear and unequivocal message that hate and extremism will never be tolerated in this country no matter who it targets.”Parliament outlawed hate speech with 1970 amendments to the Criminal Code. Cabinet has sought to censor non-criminal content deemed hurtful.“Does this government remain committed to tabling legislation that will amend the Criminal Code as proposed in the previous Bill C-63 and will it commit to working with interested senators and community stakeholders to make the changes needed to ensure this important legislation is passed?” asked Wells.“I am simply not in a position to speculate,” replied Sen. Marc Gold, government representative in the Senate. Gold faces mandatory retirement on June 30..Prime Minister Mark Carney in an April 10 campaign speech in Hamilton, ON, said he favoured a third attempt at internet censorship.“We don’t need the online hate from the United States,” he said.“There are many serious issues that we’re dealing with. One of them is with respect to really just the sea of misogyny, anti-Semitism, hatred, conspiracy theories, this sort of pollution that’s online that washes over our virtual borders from the United States.”“I can take the conspiracy theories and all that. But the more serious thing is when it affects how people behave in our society, when Canadians are threatened going to their community centres or their places of worship or their school or, God forbid, when it affects our children. My government if we are elected will be taking action.”
