After riots erupted in Dublin, Ireland last week when an Algerian-born man went on a stabbing rampage injuring 3 Irish school children, Ireland PM Leo Varadkar responded by committing to strengthen online hate speech laws in the country. Despite Ireland being in the midst of a migrant surge, the Irish government is seeking to crack down on anyone voicing dissent over irreversible changes happening in their country. Those that do speak up – like UFC superstar Conor McGregor – end up being investigated for spreading hate speech.

If all of this sounds concerning to you, that’s because. In Canada, Justin Trudeau is seeking to do the exact same thing. The yet to be reintroduced Bill C-36 would criminalize any online speech that is perceived to incite hatred against a protected class in the Canadian Human Rights Act. Even worse, Canadians can be subject to harsh penalties before even committing any crime at all so long as a judge has reason to believe that you may commit hate speech violations in the future. Pre-crime punishment is coming to Canada.

Tune into the latest episode of Ratio’d with Harrison Faulkner!

Author

  • Harrison Faulkner

    Harrison Faulkner is the host of Ratio'd and co-host of Fake News Friday. He is also a journalist and producer for True North based in Toronto. Twitter: @Harry__Faulkner

    View all posts