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In Quebec, the provincial human rights commission is investigating approximately 100 cases that allege the use of “discriminatory speech” this year. Most of these investigations will be dropped, said Philippe-André Tessier, the president of the commission, because of the Supreme Court of Canada’s ruling on Ward v. Quebec. The case pitted comedian Mike Ward’s right to free expression over singer Jérémy Gabriel’s right to dignity as defined by Quebec’s Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms.

Recent news of challenges to books in school and public libraries remind us that book challenges are not uncommon in Canada and, in most cases, are dealt with by the library staff. When the public does hear about a book challenge in a school library learning commons, it is usually where the school policies were not followed and the decision to remove the challenged item was carried out by school officials working outside the bounds of the book-challenge procedures.

In Ottawa, the federal Liberal government is drafting a bill that would suppress “harmful online content,” including hateful expression, on the internet. The bill is intended to replace Bill C-36, which Justice Minister David Lametti introduced in the House of Commons in June 2021. Bill C-36 died when the government called the election of 2021. On March 30, 2022, Justice Minister Lametti and Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez announced that an advisory panel would help draft the new bill.

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