Mark MacGuigan, the Canadian Minister of Justice, announced three proposals for amendments to the Canadian anti-hate propaganda laws with the goal of greater success in prosecuting violators.
The first is to remove the word “wilfully” from the criminal code section which states that anyone who wilfully promotes hatred against a group is guilty of violating the law. At present the prosecution must prove that a defendant specifically intended to promote such hatred, which has proved to be almost impossible to do.
The second proposed change is that the defendant, rather than the prosecutor, will be made responsible for proving that the defendant acted under criminal code provisions defining legal actions. These include expressing an opinion on a religious issue and making statements relevant to the public interest which the defendant, on reasonable grounds, believed to be true and in good faith, and made to point out, for purposes of removal, matters tending to produce feelings of hatred for groups. At present, the onus is on the prosecution to disprove such defenses.
Third is elimination of a requirement that provincial attorneys-general must give consent to prosecution of such defendants.
Anti-hate laws have been on the books in Canada for the past 14 years. But because of the need for the prosecution to prove wilful intent and the defenses available to defendants, no prosecution has succeeded under those laws and attorneys-general have been reluctant to approve such prosecution.
CJC WELCOMES MOVE
MacGuigan, at a press conference marked by a verbal exchange with Ernst Zundel, a Canadian Nazi propagandist, said that while the three changes had not yet been put in legislative form, a bill could be in Parliament soon, if opposition parties concurred in the language of the measure.
Zundel, in a question to the Justice Minister, said he was the target of the proposed amendments. MacGuigan responded, “You flatter yourself if you think this was intended for you. But if the shoe fits, I hope you will wear it.”
A Canadian Jewish Congress spokesman said that while the proposed amendments did not go as far as the CJC had asked, the CJC welcomed the initiative as a major step in the right direction and commended MacGuigan.
The proposals followed closely recommendations of a recent report of the House of Commons Committee on Visible Minorities. It was pointed out that, in recent months, in anticipation of a visit by Pope John Paul II, anti-Catholic propaganda has increased in Canada.
The Canadian Civil Liberties Association declared that the three proposals could infringe on legitimate expressions of freedom of speech.
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