He Admitted It: Canadians Can Be Charged for Online Posts Under C-9 Criminalizing Opinions

MP:
“Can you guarantee that if Bill C-9 passes, no Canadian will be charged simply because of something they posted on Twitter or Facebook?”

Minister (Sean Fraser):
“Well, if they commit the crime of wilfully promoting hatred against another person, it’s possible they could be convicted. That crime already exists today. Bill C-9 would apply equally online as it does in real life.”

MP:
“Just to confirm — does that include what people say and write on the Internet?”

Minister:
“In the limited circumstances where there is the wilful promotion of hatred, and if it’s within jurisdiction, yes — it would be possible for someone to commit a crime online.”

MP:
“The arguments your government is using to push Bill C-9 to ‘protect people against hate’ sound noble on the surface — but the same arguments in the UK have led to police literally knocking on people’s doors over their tweets.
So what guarantee can you give Canadians that we are NOT heading down that road, especially when your government has identified other priority areas like the Online Harms Act, which you’ve already introduced twice?”

Minister:
“This legislation is not identical to the UK’s reforms. We’ve looked at their experience — there were real challenges with how it played out. Some jurisdictions use broad definitions that could criminalize things like ‘liking a Facebook post.’
We chose a different path. We’ve tried to be very clear that we will not interfere with Canadians’ Charter rights to freely express themselves — but at the same time, this legislation makes it easier to lay charges where crimes are already committed today.”