Liberals’ Online Harms Bill Calls For New Hate-Crime Offence, up to Life Imprisonment

Liberals’ Online Harms Bill Calls For New Hate-Crime Offence, up to Life Imprisonment
Justice Minister Arif Virani rises during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Feb. 12, 2024. The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick
Noé Chartier
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The Liberal government today is tabling its new bill aimed at addressing “online harms,” and it goes beyond protecting children by targeting other categories of content.

The bill would add a new form of hate crime to the Criminal Code, punishable by up to life in jail, and compel those found to have posted “hate speech” online to pay penalties of $50,000 and $20,000 to each complainant.