Woe Canada: Life Sentences Over Speech -- And Pre-Crime

The Online Harms Act, or Bill C-63 increases the potential penalties from five years to life imprisonment. It also increases the penalty for the willful promotion of hatred (a dangerously ill-defined crime) from two years to five years. The proposed changes constitute a doubling down on Canada’s commitment to reducing free speech for citizens despite criticism from many in the civil liberties community.

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There is also a chilling option for house arrest if a judge believes a defendant “will commit” an offense. In other words, if a judge thinks that a citizen will be undeterred and try to speak freely again.

Ed Morrissey

As Turley says, right now the rationale is "hate speech." It will shortly descend down the slippery slope to "speech that challenges our power." Canada is rapidly becoming an authoritarian banana republic, and we may not be far behind. 

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