A bill prohibiting the mail distribution of hate materials was introduced in the House of Commons here today by David Orlikow, a New Democrat member of Parliament from Winnipeg. The bill, an amendment to the Post Office Act, would add to criminal offenders those who use the mails “for the purpose of delivering anything that is calculated to bring into hatred, ridicule or contempt, any person or group of persons by reason of race, national origin, color or religion.”
The bill, according to Mr. Orlikow, would implement the Canadian Bill of Rights, which guarantees that human rights and fundamental freedoms “exist without discrimination against any group of people” in the Dominion.
At the same time, Marvin Gelber, another member of Parliament, representing the Liberal Party from a constituency in metropolitan Toronto, told the House that the criminal code must be amended so that the “spread of disaffection between races and classes” be outlawed in Canada.
A number of leading Canadian cities–including Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, and Winnipeg-have been flooded of late with anti-Semitic and other hate materials. Hatemongers in the United States are believed to have originated these materials. The Canadian Jewish Congress announced today that a CJC delegation will meet Thursday with several Cabinet ministers to discuss the situation. Expected to participate in that parley on behalf of the Government will be the Ministers of Justice and Internal Revenue and the Postmaster General of Canada.
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