BPC Bulletin: Federal Government Committee Publishes Its Report about Online Hatred

News Reports and Commentary Selected by Franklin Carter of the Book and Periodical Council’s Freedom of Expression Committee

In June 2019, the House Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights in Ottawa published a report about hateful expression on the Internet.

Taking Action to End Online Hate tentatively recommends reinstating section 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act. Parliament abolished the section, which authorized online censorship, in 2013.

REPORTAGE

In the National Post, Brian Platt reports:
https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/liberals-inching-closer-to-reviving-section-13-the-controversial-hate-speech-law-repealed-in-2013

Deborah Gyapong reports for Canadian Catholic News:
https://www.catholicregister.org/item/29778-justice-report-worries-free-speech-advocates

COMMENTARY

In The Post Millennial, Siddak Ahuja comments:
https://www.thepostmillennial.com/trudeau-liberals-threaten-free-speech-with-hints-of-reviving-section-13/

In C2C Journal, Grant A. Brown writes:
https://c2cjournal.ca/2019/06/lookin-for-hate-in-all-the-wrong-places/

In the Toronto Sun, Lorne Gunter comments:
https://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/gunter-why-canadas-hate-speech-provisions-were-wrong-then-and-still-wrong-now

The Book and Periodical Council was formed in 1975 as the Book and Periodical Development Council to provide a venue for members to discuss industry issues, address mutual concerns and undertake projects for the benefit of Canadian writing and publishing.