Hate Crime in Canada: Growing Pains with New Legislation

Abstract

In Canada hating has never been illegal, but since 1970 acting upon this feeling is illegal. While hate has been part of the cultural, political, and social fabric of this sometimes "peaceable kingdom" (e.g., Friedenberg, 1979), it was only in the 1960s that a strong enough popular and legislative agenda developed to amend the Criminal Code of Canada, (hereafter the Code), to include a hate crime law. This legislative change was one of many reactions to a rise in right·wing ideology, racial discrimination, and violence in Canada.The study of hate crime in Canada has been covered under the umbrella terms of antisemitism, discrimination, freedom of expression and speech, immigration, prejudice, nationalism, nativism, racism. refugees, and right.wing activity. Already, a considerable amount of research has been conducted on this subject. This chapter is primarily a historical analysis of the introduction of hate crime legislation in Canada, the situations where charges were filed and well publicized, as well as those cases where hate crime charges were considered by authorities but avoided.