Poilievre responds to Liberal government’s proposed Online Harms Bill
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre states that his party stands behind the criminalization of online bullying and sexual exploitation, while also emphasizing that Canadians should not be penalized for their opinions.
Mr. Poilievre made these remarks following the recent introduction of Bill C-63 by the Liberals. This legislation, labeled as “online harms,” is described by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as a means to safeguard Canadians on the internet.
In a press release on Feb. 27, the Tory leader expressed his backing for the enforcement of laws against online victimization of children and re-victimization of abuse survivors.
“We believe that these serious acts should be deemed criminal, investigated by law enforcement, brought to trial, and penalized with imprisonment, rather than being delegated to ineffective bureaucracies that offer no preventative measures or justice to victims,” Poilievre stated.
“We do not support the government’s move to censor opinions that diverge from the prime minister’s extreme ideology.”
Mr. Poilievre also stressed the necessity of criminalizing and broadening bans on intimate content distributed without consent, such as deepfakes.
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Mr. Poilievre’s office chose not to further elaborate on the party’s specific stance towards Bill C-63. Previously, the Tory leader had announced that his party would oppose the government bill upon its release, arguing that it would lead to the criminalization of speech disliked by the prime minister.
Details of Bill C-63
Bill C-63 aims to tackle “online harms” by amending the Canadian Criminal Code and Canadian Human Rights Act to regulate online content related to sexual exploitation, bullying, deepfakes, and “hateful conduct.”
The legislation would introduce a new hate crime into the Criminal Code, punishable by life imprisonment, and offer up to $20,000 in compensation to victims of online “hate speech.” It also proposes a new standalone hate crime offense in the Criminal Code, which would pertain to existing offenses.
Offenders of this new offense could face life imprisonment to deter such hateful conduct as a crime in itself, not just as an aggravating factor. The sentencing duration will be taken into account during sentencing. Additionally, the maximum penalties for hate propaganda offenses in Sections 318 and 319 would be raised to life imprisonment from the current five years if the offender advocated genocide.
The legislation would cover three types of online content: social media services, live-streaming websites, and user-generated adult content services, according to a technical briefing from Feb. 26. Social media and live-streaming services would include platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and Twitch, while user-generated adult content services would encompass pornography platforms like Pornhub or XVideos.
Private communications are not included in the legislation, which includes email exchanges and direct messages on social media. However, public groups on social media with an “unlimited number of members” will fall under the legislation, likely impacting Facebook and Telegram groups.
