Canada: Rejected Bill C-36

On 15 August 2021, Bill C-36, which intended to amend the Criminal Code to define “hatred” for the purposes of two hate propaganda offences, was rejected as the legislative session closed. The Bill intended to apply to "online communication service providers", whereby the term was set to include major platforms. Specifically, the legislation would have intended to target five categories of harmful content: terrorist content; content that incites violence; hate speech; non-consensual sharing of intimate images; and child sexual exploitation content. Additionally, the Bill aimed to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act to provide that it is a discriminatory practice to pursue hate speech. Furthermore, the Bill authorised the Canadian Human Rights Commission to accept complaints alleging hate speech and enabled the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal to adjudicate complaints and order remedies.