Quebec's Anti-Hate Speech Bill Irks Muslims
“There's no need for a new regulation, especially if we're not using the old one. We already have the right tools in the criminal code,” Salam Elmenyawi of the Muslim Council of Montreal was quoted by CTV on Thursday, August 20.
Elmenyawi is one of Muslim leaders who questioned Quebec's proposed anti-hate-speech legislation during public hearings on Bill 59 in the National Assembly last Thursday.
Called Bill 59, the controversial legislation aims to combat radicalism and violent extremism in the French-speaking province.
According to the government, the bill comes in response to Ottawa's attack last autumn and increasing number of Quebecers leaving to conflict zones in the Middle East.
The bill also aims at fighting soaring Islamophobia and anti-Muslim attacks in the province.
Besides representatives from the Muslim Council of Montreal, the hearing was attended by members of the Muslim Canadian Forum and the Canadian Council of Muslim Women.
Speaking during the meeting, Samer Majzoub, president of the Canadian Muslim Forum said that said the bill is not completely clear.
“We are looking for some clarifications of definitions. What exactly is hate speech? We would really like for this to be clarified,” he said.
Moreover, Elmenyawi of Montreal warned that the new legislation may end up “unfairly” targeting the Muslim community.
“A lot is left for the discretion of a civil servant in an administrative process that can destroy somebody's life,” he said.
Muslims make around 2.8 percent of Canada's 32.8 million population, and Islam is the number one non-Christian faith in the country.
A recent survey showed that the overwhelming majority of Muslims are proud to be Canadian, and that they are more educated than the general .population
Promoting Stereotypes
Voicing concerns about the bill, the Canadian Council of Muslim Women said that the language in the bill dealing with so-called "honor" crimes could promote negative stereotypes of Muslims.
“If you talk about an honour crime, you are maybe implying that there could be an excuse. However a crime is a crime, and there's no excuse,” Samaa Elibyari of the women council said.
With a vague definition of hate speech, a clear definition will be created the Quebec Human Rights commission that will also investigate complaints.
Names of offenders will be published on a website for public.
“We cannot call for hate, we cannot call for violence against a group of people. This is what it's all about, it's a bill about protection,” said Justice Minister Stephanie Vallee.
Describing Thursday’s debate as respectful, Vallee said: “There have been some critics, but the exchanges and the dialogue has been present. It's very soft, and that's the way it should be when we're talking about a delicate issue.”
While there were 17 per cent fewer hate crime incidents reported to police in Canada in 2013 compared with 2012, the numbers reveal that black populations are still the most frequently targeted in hate crimes, and crimes against Muslims rose last year.
Anti-Muslim hate crimes mark the only category that saw a significant increase.
Studies indicate that hate crimes may be the most under reported type of crime including one study that reported that a full two-thirds of victims surveyed chose not to report the crime to police.
The Collectif Québécois Contre l’Islamophobie, has documented more than 123 Islamophobic attacks since Charlie Hebdo attacks earlier this month.
Two months ago, Canadian Muslim groups have launched a national campaign to combat hatred, educate Canadians about the ramifications of hate crimes and to help find ways to address this phenomenon.
Source: OnIslam.net
