OTTAWA—The Liberal government is weighing the criminalization of displaying terror and hate symbols, a potentially precedent-setting move in Canada that has prompted concerns about civil liberties.
It’s not yet clear if a possible ban would focus on specific symbols, like the swastika, or if it would broadly cover any symbols related to designated terror groups. And no final decision has yet been made on whether to go through with the Criminal Code reforms, which were being mulled by the Trudeau government prior to Prime Minister Mark Carney’s ascent to the Liberal leadership and his victory in the spring election, according to a transition briefing to the minister of justice from March 2025 that was made public last week.
We have experience of laws ostensibly designed to safeguard the public good being weaponized by the Liberal-Left to criminalize dissent.
That assault on liberty is on-going and we should not repeat errors of the past.
