Canada: Government introduces Bill C-36

The government proposes Bill C-36, which intends to amend the Criminal Code to define “hatred” for the purposes of two hate propaganda offences. The Bill intends to apply to "online communication service providers", whereby the term is set to include major platforms. Specifically, the legislation would be 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 aims to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act to provide that it is a discriminatory practice to pursue hate speech. Furthermore, the Bill authorises the Canadian Human Rights Commission to accept complaints alleging hate speech and enables the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal to adjudicate complaints and order remedies.