September 19,2025
RED FM News Desk
Justice Minister Sean Fraser introduced new legislation Friday creating four Criminal Code offences, including one that would criminalize the intentional public promotion of hatred against identifiable groups using certain hate- or terrorism-related symbols.
The full text of the bill will be released later today. If passed, it would target symbols linked to attacks on Jews during the Holocaust or those associated with groups on the government’s terrorist list, such as the Proud Boys, Hamas, and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. For example, displaying Hamas flags or swastikas outside a synagogue to incite hatred against Jewish people would become a crime.
The legislation would also strengthen protections against willful intimidation and obstruction of places of worship and other sensitive institutions.
Fraser noted that the bill includes two additional measures to aid prosecutions: adding a legal definition of “hatred” to the Criminal Code and removing the requirement for provincial attorney general consent to pursue a hate crime.
“This behaviour is not just morally culpable; it reverberates throughout the community and tears at the social fabric of the nation,” Fraser said, highlighting the government’s commitment to addressing rising hate incidents, including antisemitism and Islamophobia.
Statistics Canada reports police-reported hate crimes in Canada rose to 4,882 in 2023, up from 2,646 in 2020.
Conservatives have criticized the Liberals for delayed action, while Jewish and Muslim organizations say a federal response to hate crimes and vandalism has been long overdue.
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