Justice Minister Arif Virani touted the Trudeau Liberal’s new Online Harms Act, which could send Canadians to jail if they are suspected of saying something “hateful” online in the future. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s administration introduced Bill C-36 on Monday and has received widespread pushback from the general public, and praise from inside his own government. Virani, while assuring the public content that is “awful but lawful” would be allowed to remain on the internet, defended the idea to give the government the authority to arrest an individual for something someone else thought they might say, according to the Globe & Mail..The person who might write something “hateful” online could be ordered by the Attorney General (Virani himself) to wear an ankle bracelet and be told to stay home, according to Bill C-36. The law requires both the AG and a federal judge to sign off on the sentencing, the maximum being life in prison..Informants who complain to the Canadian Human Rights Commission on behalf of their neighbours are eligible for a $20,000 government payout.“What’s really critical is that it gives the judge a wonderful range of sentences. This is not a mandatory minimum of a life sentence, this is just a larger range, including what would be the maximum sentence,” said Virani..Any peace bond issued by a judge based on the Online Harms Act should be “calibrated carefully,” said Virani, stating the new power acquired from the Trudeau Liberals is “very, very important” to curbing hateful behavior if someone is suspected to have such a track record. If “there’s a genuine fear of an escalation, then an individual or group could come forward and seek a peace bond against them and to prevent them from doing certain things,” said Virani. .Punishments such as house arrest and the conditions that go along with it “would help to deradicalize people who are learning things online and acting out in the real world violently, sometimes fatally,” believes Virani. “There’s a lot of bad stuff out there. But this is not about the bad stuff. This is a much higher level,” he said..Virani emphasized as Justice Minister he has a sworn allegiance to the constitution and therefore is still “concerned about any chilling of freedom of expression.”“I heard those concerns, to a great extent,” he said, referring to the great pushback from the Canadian people, including politicians, human rights groups and non-legacy media. “Time is of the essence and we know how horrible material can go viral very, very quickly,” advised Virani.
Justice Minister Arif Virani touted the Trudeau Liberal’s new Online Harms Act, which could send Canadians to jail if they are suspected of saying something “hateful” online in the future. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s administration introduced Bill C-36 on Monday and has received widespread pushback from the general public, and praise from inside his own government. Virani, while assuring the public content that is “awful but lawful” would be allowed to remain on the internet, defended the idea to give the government the authority to arrest an individual for something someone else thought they might say, according to the Globe & Mail..The person who might write something “hateful” online could be ordered by the Attorney General (Virani himself) to wear an ankle bracelet and be told to stay home, according to Bill C-36. The law requires both the AG and a federal judge to sign off on the sentencing, the maximum being life in prison..Informants who complain to the Canadian Human Rights Commission on behalf of their neighbours are eligible for a $20,000 government payout.“What’s really critical is that it gives the judge a wonderful range of sentences. This is not a mandatory minimum of a life sentence, this is just a larger range, including what would be the maximum sentence,” said Virani..Any peace bond issued by a judge based on the Online Harms Act should be “calibrated carefully,” said Virani, stating the new power acquired from the Trudeau Liberals is “very, very important” to curbing hateful behavior if someone is suspected to have such a track record. If “there’s a genuine fear of an escalation, then an individual or group could come forward and seek a peace bond against them and to prevent them from doing certain things,” said Virani. .Punishments such as house arrest and the conditions that go along with it “would help to deradicalize people who are learning things online and acting out in the real world violently, sometimes fatally,” believes Virani. “There’s a lot of bad stuff out there. But this is not about the bad stuff. This is a much higher level,” he said..Virani emphasized as Justice Minister he has a sworn allegiance to the constitution and therefore is still “concerned about any chilling of freedom of expression.”“I heard those concerns, to a great extent,” he said, referring to the great pushback from the Canadian people, including politicians, human rights groups and non-legacy media. “Time is of the essence and we know how horrible material can go viral very, very quickly,” advised Virani.
