Don’t Even Think That or the Government Will Arrest You

I n the 2002 Tom Cruise movie Minority Report, an authoritarian government apprehends people under a “pre-crime” program, in which clairvoyants claim foreknowledge of criminal activity before it is committed.

Now, science fiction may become reality in Canada.

Justin Trudeau’s government is no respecter of civil liberties. In January, a federal court found that it had violated the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms by using a state of emergency to, among other things, freeze the bank accounts of Covid-lockdown protesters in 2022. CSIS, Canada’s intelligence agency, recently concluded that the “anti-gender movement” and the connected parental-rights movement are a “violent threat” to the country. CSIS spokesperson Eric Balsam told CBC News that, while violent rhetoric does not always lead to violence, “the ecosystem of violent rhetoric within the anti-gender movement, compounded with other extreme worldviews, can lead to serious violence.” According to the Canadian government, then, words may have to be stopped just in case they become action.

Trudeau’s party seems “to have determined anything that challenges government orthodoxy amounts to ‘hate’ or even terrorism,” says Meghan Murphy, a feminist writer. She cites the newly introduced Online Harms Act, or C-63, which would make it clear that posting “hate speech” online qualifies as discrimination. It would also grant individuals the ability to file anonymous complaints against other Canadians for engaging in speech they consider to be hateful. Trudeau says the bill aims to make the internet safer for children, but C-63 goes much further than cracking down on cyberbullying and child exploitation. Fines for those found guilty by the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal for certain offensive online speech could be as high as $50,000 (USD), and up to $20,000 could be paid to complainants (who can remain anonymous).

The law would also give judges the power to put someone under house arrest if they fear that he could commit a hate crime in the future. In short, Canadians could effectively be charged with pre-crime.

Critics have warned that the draconian bill would represent an overreach of power and could stifle free speech and difficult discussions.

Arif Virani, Canada’s justice minister, says the measure is an “important” tool to protect potential victims. A person who is feared to be a danger to minority groups could have his internet use restricted or be banned from being near a mosque or synagogue. Such a person could also be made to wear an electronic tag. Virani assures us that this would not infringe on free speech because it wouldn’t be used against “awful but lawful” statements. Comforting, that.

Pierre Poilievre, the Conservative opposition leader, is aghast. He warns that the proposed policy “risks misuse or overuse by police, and unfairness to accused persons in court.”

“We’re very concerned that comedians, and even people just trying to have difficult conversations about things like gender or immigration or religion, are going to be faced with complaints,” worries Josh Dehaas, a lawyer with the Canadian Constitution Foundation. “Even if the complaints don’t go anywhere, they’ll be able to be threatened — ‘if you don’t take that tweet down, or if you don’t stop with that comedy routine, I’m going to take you to the Human Rights Tribunal’ — and that threat alone is going to cause a lot of damage.” The lines about what speech is permitted would be subjective, shifting, and unclear.

Canada’s parliament hasn’t acted on the proposal yet, and there’s some belief that a nationwide outcry could block its passage. If it becomes law, however, you can expect “woke” progressives in America — where we still try to punish those responsible for crimes after they’ve been committed — to seek to import it in short order.