"Canada considers house arrest for people at risk of committing hate crimes"

"Justin Trudeau’s government has proposed a law giving judges the power to put someone under house arrest if they fear they could commit a hate crime.

Critics have warned the 'draconian' bill is an overreach of power and could stifle free speech and difficult discussions.

But Canada’s justice minister defended the measure, claiming it would be an 'important' tool to help protect potential victims.

An online harms bill introduced by the Liberals last week proposed a string of laws to protect children and prosecute hate crimes.

One of the suggested measures would give judges the ability to put people under house arrest who they worry could commit a hate crime in the future. The person could also be made to wear an electronic tag if the attorney-general requested it...

Preventative measures could include banning the person from being near a synagogue or a mosque or restrictions on internet use...

Measures proposed in Bill C-63, which was unveiled on 26 February, include a new hate crime offence which carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment for the most serious cases...

Noa Mendelsohn Aviv, of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, criticised the 'draconian penalties' proposed by the Bill.

He warned it could lead to 'violations of expressive freedom, privacy, protest rights, and liberty' and a new offence introduced 'risks misuse or overuse by police, and unfairness to accused persons in court'.

One aspect of the bill would allow people to file complaints to the Canadian Human Rights Commission over what is perceived as hate speech online. Those found guilty could have to pay victims up to C$20,000 in compensation.

Critics have warned the measure risked silencing those such as comedians and commentators who could be slapped with huge fines.

'We’re very concerned that comedians, and even people just trying to have difficult conversations about things like gender or immigration or religion, are going to be faced with complaints,' Josh Dehaas, a lawyer with the Canadian Constitution Foundation, told the Globe and Mail.

'Even if the complaints don’t go anywhere, they’ll be able to be threatened – ‘if you don’t take that tweet down, or if you don’t stop with that comedy routine, I’m going to take you to the Human Rights Tribunal’ – and that threat alone is going to cause a lot of damage.'"