BPC Bulletins

Authoritarian governments outside Canada use digital devices and the internet to repress foreign-born political activists and dissidents in Canada. The targets of digital repression in Canada include people from China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Yemen. Researchers* at the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab report: Psychological and Emotional War: Digital Transnational Repression in Canada - The Citizen Lab

In Quebec, the provincial human rights commission is investigating approximately 100 cases that allege the use of “discriminatory speech” this year. Most of these investigations will be dropped, said Philippe-André Tessier, the president of the commission, because of the Supreme Court of Canada’s ruling on Ward v. Quebec. The case pitted comedian Mike Ward’s right to free expression over singer Jérémy Gabriel’s right to dignity as defined by Quebec’s Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms.

In Ottawa, the federal Liberal government is drafting a bill that would suppress “harmful online content,” including hateful expression, on the internet. The bill is intended to replace Bill C-36, which Justice Minister David Lametti introduced in the House of Commons in June 2021. Bill C-36 died when the government called the election of 2021. On March 30, 2022, Justice Minister Lametti and Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez announced that an advisory panel would help draft the new bill.

In Parliament, Senator Julie Miville-Dechêne has introduced Bill S-210 to restrict young people’s access to sexually explicit images on the internet. The bill’s short title: Protecting Young Persons from Exposure to Pornography Act. The first reading of Bill S-210 occurred in the Senate on November 24, 2021. THE BILL Read the text of the bill: https://www.parl.ca/DocumentViewer/en/44-1/bill/S-210/first-reading THE BILL’S STATUS 

Freedom to Read Week — Canada’s annual celebration of the freedom to read — began on February 20 and ended on February 26, 2022. Here is another sample of the news and opinion columns that appeared in Canada during the week. REPORTAGE In Discover Weyburn in Saskatchewan, Marna McManus reports: You're free to read whatever you want - DiscoverWeyburn.com - Local news, Weather, Sports, Free Classifieds and Job Listings for the Weyburn, Saskatchewan

In British Columbia, a defamation lawsuit filed by author Steven Galloway against a woman he says falsely accused him of sexual and physical assaults can go to trial. Galloway, who was once chair of the University of British Columbia’s creative writing program, filed the lawsuit three years ago. The woman’s identity is protected by a publication ban, but she is referred to in court documents as A.B. Galloway’s lawsuit also names more than 20 other defendants.