I have spent the better part of 30 years in journalism misattributing to Voltaire the idea that I would defend free speech to the death, even if I disapproved of what was being said (it turns out it was a summary of Voltaire’s views by his biographer, Evelyn Beatrice Hall).
Yet, events since October 7th have revealed that there are, or should be, limits; that people cannot say things that incite real harm to others or society at large.
On the anniversary of that brutal attack, a large protest celebrating Hezbollah and Hamas took to the streets, whipped up by a woman with a megaphone who shouted: “Death to Canada. Death to the United States. Death to Israel”, to loud cheers from the crowd.
This did not take place on the streets of Tehran. The protest was in downtown Vancouver, as documented by this video by the New Westminster Times.
A separate video showed the burning of the Canadian flag, which is disturbing but not illegal, unless you breach local fire regulations.
The march was organized by Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, a registered not-for-profit corporation in Canada, which has links to a terrorist group banned in Canada called the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. (The PFLP’s military wing, the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigade, boasted about participating in the October 7th attack).
The voice from the bullhorn in the Vancouver video does not appear to have been Charlotte Kates, a director of Samidoun, and the wife of Khaled Barakat, identified by Israel’s Shin Bet as a senior figure in the PFLP.
That is just as well as Kates is subject to a release order that bars her from making political speeches, after her arrest for comments made last April praising the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre of Israelis.
She recently travelled to Iran to pick up a human rights award — seriously — where she said on state TV that she was arrested in April simply for speaking at a rally.
In fact, she was charged under Canada’s hate speech law for chanting “Long live October 7th” on the steps of the Vancouver Art Gallery, declaring the terror attack was a “beautiful, brave and heroic (act of) resistance.”
Have we collectively, as a society, had enough of this exploitation of our tolerance?
I think we have. After the “Death to Canada” video went viral Monday night, politicians dashed to microphones to call for Samidoun to be banned. John Rustad, the B.C. Conservative party leader, who faces an election in 11 days, said his party will not “bend the knee to violent mobs.” He said if you call for death or burn the Canadian flag, he will fight for your arrest or deportation.
Pierre Poilievre, the federal Conservative leader, blamed violence on the streets on “Justin Trudeau’s radical ideology” and said he would ban Samidoun, using section 83.05 of the Criminal Code, which makes it an offence to knowingly act on behalf of, at the direction of, or in association with a listed terrorist group.
If law enforcement does take action on what, at face value, is wilful promotion of hatred, then we are likely to hear from the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, just as we did when Kates was arrested. In that instance, the BCCLA claimed the police were “weaponizing” the Criminal Code to silence particular political statements and misusing hate speech provisions to chill free speech.
It is a worthy organization and we are lucky to have such an alert watchdog to bark when the state encroaches on free expression.
But in the Kates case, the BCCLA is wrong. We have always had limits on individual freedoms, such as the libel laws. October 7th has changed things and arguably, we need new laws to protect vulnerable communities.
Anthony Housefather, the Montreal Liberal MP, has suggested a new intimidation offence he calls “bubble legislation,” to stop hostile groups blocking entry to schools, community centres or places of worship. Jewish groups have also called for legislation to outlaw the glorification of terrorism, such as waving Hamas or Hezbollah flags.
The federal government needs to act, but the slide toward dystopia is not solely Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s fault. Provincial governments need to provide direction to municipalities, and local police forces must enforce the Criminal Code. That has not been happening until recently.
But there are signs that the public’s patience has been stretched to a breaking point. A new Leger poll for the Association of Canadian Studies revealed that three times as many people side with Israel as back Hamas. Canadians are aware that radicalization doesn’t happen overnight and that if you allow extremist groups to flourish, young people become indoctrinated and, potentially, violent. We are already seeing the growth of “settler-colonial” social theory, where those who question Israel’s right to exist also believe Canada and the United States are illegitimate settler states. If violence is a necessary means to an end in one case, why not in both?
In all societies, freedom of speech has suffered when countries are on a war footing.
Hostilities may not have been declared, but if you don’t think Canada is in a fight for all it holds dear, you should watch the forces of radical Islam calling for the death of Canada on the streets of Vancouver, while holding the remnants of a burned Maple Leaf flag.
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