The Canadian Human Rights Commission has announced plans to test its authority for the first time against pre-recorded telephone hate messages. The Commission-will appoint a three-member tribunal to rule on complaints about so called “white power messages” made available by the Western Guard Party in Toronto.
Officials said that a hearing by the tribunal, expected in May, will provide the first interpretation of the new law against telephone hate messages. In addition, the issue could prompt a lively debate on free speech, in view of the fact that the law itself was opposed, in Parliament and by the Canadian Civil liberties Association, as a threat to free communication.
The tribunal’s job will be to decide whether a Western Guard message, which can be heard by dialing a Toronto telephone number, “is likely to expose a person or persons to hatred or contempt” because of his race, religion, origin, color or other prohibited ground of discrimination.
A confidential policy prohibits identification of complaining groups or individuals, but commission authorities have indicated that the Toronto complaints were prompted by the singling out of Jews. The law against hate messages is a section of the Human Rights Act passed in July 1977. It closed a loophole in the Criminal Code section on hate propaganda which covers only hate incited in any public place.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
