According to a National Post article, federal legislation will see a new statutory definition of hate and could also see the reincarnation of a controversial hate speech law. The new definition, part of legislation aimed at tackling online hate content, will be based on previous court decisions and how the Supreme Court has defined hate, said Arif Virani, parliamentary secretary to Justice Minister David Lametti.
A spokesman for Virani said the new definition of hate will be informed by past court cases including the Supreme Court’s Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission v Whatcott case. The Whatcott decision invoked case law involving a list of “hallmarks of hatred” which, according to Professor Richard Moon, is a list of indicators that give reason to regard that speech as hateful.
“Among the hallmarks of hatred were things like identifying the group as subhuman or animalistic, or as unclean or carrying disease or as inclined to engage in violence or things of that nature,” Professor Moon said. He adds that in the 1990 Supreme Court R. v Keegstra decision the court “talked about hate speech as speech that expressed that detestation towards the group, the vilification of the group.”