A bill making its way through the Canadian Parliament would impose draconian criminal penalties on hate speech and curtail people’s liberty in order to stop crimes they haven’t yet committed.
In 1984, George Orwell coined the term thoughtcrime. In the short story “The Minority Report,” the science-fiction author Philip K. Dick gave us the concept of “precrime,” describing a society where would-be criminals were arrested before they could act. Now Canada is combining the concepts in a work of dystopian nonfiction: A bill making its way through Parliament would impose draconian criminal penalties on hate speech and curtail people’s liberty in order to stop future crimes they haven’t yet committed.
Precrime!
We need to define hatred in the Criminal Code. We need strict penalties for violent acts of hate. We need the ability to stop an anticipated hate crime from occurring.
The Online Harms Act does all of this. The Conservatives need to get on board. Now. #StopHate #ProtectKids
— Arif Virani (@viraniarif) May 31, 2024
