Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected to enter the legislation as early as Tuesday to take energetic measures against people intimidating and obstructing people who enter places of cult, cultural community centers and schools, as CBC News has learned.
A source with knowledge of government plans says that Ottawa will propose three new crimes under the Canada Criminal Code, including the creation of a new crime of hate crimes.
Carney promised during his electoral campaign to respond to what he has called a “horrible ascent of hate”, including anti -Semitism and Islamophobia. He pointed to his Caucus this week that the changes were approaching.
“All Canadians must be able to get up, go to work, go to their church, temple, mosque, community center and then return home and sleep deeply at night,” Carney told their parliamentarians in Edmonton on Wednesday.
“And when our laws do not repeatedly protect those basic rights, we need new laws. This fall we will deliver them.”
CBC News has now learned new details about the first of at least three legislation that liberals expect to cover this fall that imply changes in the country’s criminal justice system.
Liberals face criticism from conservatives that the government is not taking anti -Semitism seriously and is not difficult enough for crime. The conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has requested stronger hate crime laws and the deportation of non -Canadians who disseminate hatred in the country.
The legislation of the liberals is expected next week to propose changes in the Criminal Code to give the police and the prosecutors new tools to try to protect the people who access a variety of religious and cultural buildings, said the source.
The source says that the measure is in response to shooting to religious schools, the threats of bombs in cultural institutions and violence against people who go to places of worship.
The total number of hate crimes informed by the police throughout the country increased from 2,646 incidents in 2020 to 4,882 cases in 2024, according to the data of Statistics Canada.
The rabbis, the magnets, the church leaders and the members of the community have talked about acts of aggression, including people who hit the windows, vandalizing buildings, sending hate mail and harassing the worshipers since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas War.
Jewish and Muslim groups have asked governments to create “bubble zones” safe around places of worship after witnessing more hate crimes aimed at mosques, synagogues and Jewish institutions.
Toronto approved a controversial statute earlier this year to restrict protests around the day houses, schools and places of worship after months of demonstrations after the attack led by Hamas of October 7, 2023 against Israel and Israel de Gaza. Some argued that the new protest statute was not far enough to protect vulnerable groups, while others said it violated the right of people to protest.
New intimidation and obstruction offenses
The Minister of Justice and Attorney General Sean Fraser said that the federal government does not have the jurisdiction to prevent people from being in a particular place, but that it can take other measures.
“Criminalize the morally guilty behavior that can take place near these institutions or elsewhere is something that we have the authority to advance,” Fraser told journalists on Thursday outside a meeting of Caucus Liberal.
A source says that the government is expected to propose a new crime of intimidation that would make illegal try to scare people so that they do not access religious or cultural buildings used by identifiable groups.
The Minister of Justice, Sean Fraser, said that the federal government is not responsible for “regulating people’s ability to be in a particular place”, but is trying to add criminal provisions that prohibit the obstruction of facilities such as synagogues and mosques.
A new crime of obstruction would also be created to prohibit people from blocking or obstructing someone’s access to those properties, the source said.
To avoid violating the rights of the letter, said the source, there would be an exemption so that people can advocate and protest as long as it is legal.
The new crimes are expected to be similar to the crimes that make it a crime to intimidate or obstruct patients or health workers who do their work or access care. Crimes were created in 2021 after protests against vaccine mandates and other public health measures related to COVID-19.
It will depend on the Court to decide which properties fall under this crime, said the source. The churches, mosques, synagogues, nurseries and religious or secular schools would describe, the source said, but the cultural centers, community centers and 2SLGBTQ+ spaces could also be used mainly by an identifiable group.
Offense separated by hate crimes
The Government is also expected to propose a separate crime for anyone who commits other crimes while motivated by hate due to the race, religion or sex of someone, the source said.
“We are looking to establish new measures that address hate more widely that is combined with other criminal behavior that can take place regardless of its proximity to a private institution based on faith,” Fraser hinted on Thursday on Thursday.
The Government faced criticism in the past on its online damage law, bill C-63, which proposed a similar type of crime of hate crimes. Some raised concerns that the crime could lead to a life sentence. Others worried that the crime could put the defendants under pressure to declare themselves guilty of minor charges.
The source says that to address these concerns, the Government is expected to propose an increasing prayer structure. Hate would also be defined and not including dislike, offend or humiliate someone, the source said.
Noah Shack, CEO of Israel and Jewish affairs, says that the next legislation is a “very necessary step in the right direction”, but more action is needed. He is asking the Federal Government to hold criminals responsible, fill the gaps in Canada’s anti -terrorism legislation and increase security for communities in the next budget of this fall.
The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) says that the government needs to achieve the correct balance with this legislation and does not comment until it is introduced.
“Absolutely no one should be harassed in Canada, particularly in places of worship and religious community,” said NCCM spokesman Steven Zhou. “The right to peaceful protest must also be protected.”
Conservative vice president Melissa Laintsman said his party will evaluate the legislation once it appears, but for years the “liberals did nothing.”
“No one should be afraid to worship alone, but that is exactly what the liberal government has allowed in the last two years of its inaction while our communities asked for help,” said Laintsman in a statement.
She said the conservatives presented a plan almost two years ago on how to protect Canadians from “threats of vandalism, hate, intimidation and violence in our communities simply who they are and how they worship.”
The Party also presented legislation to address fire attacks in places of worship and has requested a series of other measures, including the creation of an anti -od-cyrims work group and accelerating access to a government security program for communities at risk of crimes with hate engines, said Laintsman.
