Canada is a democratic nation in which Canadian citizens have inherent civil and human rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
In Canada, no level of government, individual, corporation, or any other entity has a right to diminish, take away, or violate our inalienable civil and human rights.
Definitions
Civil society: Non-governmental organizations and groups, communities, networks, and ties that stand between the individual and the economic, government, and social institutions of the modern state (Encyclopedia Britannica).
Examples include: community, non-profit, and advocacy groups and societies; faith and religious groups; trade unions and labour organizations; and research and"think tank" organizations.
World Health Organization (WHO) definition: "The space for collective action around shared interests, purposes and values, generally distinct from government and commercial for-profit actors.
Civil society includes charities, development NGOs, community groups, women's organizations, faith-based organizations, professional associations, trade unions, social movements, coalitions and advocacy groups."
The role of civil society:
- Empowering communities and giving voice to individuals and communities on issues that impact them.
- Advocating for the "public good," good governance, public policy and program development, implementation and service to the public.
- Holding governments and societal institutions accountable to citizens, and the people they serve. (Mission Box, 2020).
Free speech: The legal right to express one's opinions publicly without government restraints; speech protected from governmental restraint by legal means; the right to state one's opinions and ideas without being stopped or punished." (The Free Dictionary; Meriam-Webster; Wikipedia).
Public Interest: A common concern among citizens in the management and affairs of local (city), province/state, and national government.
- Welfare of the general public in which the whole of society has a stake, and which warrants recognition, promotion, and protection by the government and its agencies.
- Regulatory and quality assurance frameworks, policies and processes are often developed to monitor, have oversight, audit, investigate and review whether government programs and services are operating in the public interest.
- This can include the public’s right to know important information and facts about things that impact their health, safety, lives, and communities.
- For example, 5G technology, a relatively new technology, is being installed in many communities. Local, provincial, and federal governments may not have studied the short and long-term impacts to the health and safety of human beings prior to installation of 5G technology. It is in the public interest for evidence-based research to be used in making decisions about allowing this new technology to be installed to protect and avoid any potential harms associated with increasing rates of radiation. (Business Dictionary; Legal Dictionary).
Fundamental Freedoms are outlined in Section 2 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms:
2. Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms:
a. freedom of conscience and religion;
b. freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication;
c. freedom of peaceful assembly; and
d. freedom of association.
Sec. 2 (b) is the section in the Charter that outlines Canadian's rights to "free speech", or "freedom of expression:"
- “Expression" has both a content and a form.
- Content is the meaning that is being portrayed by any expressive activity.
- Expressive activities can come in many forms.
- Expression isn’t just limited to the things we say; it can come in many forms, from the written word, to music, or physical gestures.
- As long as an activity is performed to convey meaning, it can be considered expression under the Charter.
- Freedom of expression is protected in Canada's Constitution to ensure that everyone can share their thoughts, opinions, and beliefs.
- In a free and democratic society both individuals and communities benefit from access to a diversity of ideas and opinions.
- Individual self-fulfillment;
- Finding the truth through the open exchange of ideas (sometimes called the “marketplace of ideas”);
- Enabling political discourse fundamental to democracy (allowing for conversations and communication about laws and government so that we can live in a democratic country in which everyone gets to participate, share information and their opinions about what the government is doing, and make choices about government and law).
Freedom of the media, journalists, bloggers, and others to write about and express ideas, present information, and produce content, including written reports about anything, including opinions and perspectives people may disagree with, do not like, or do not believe in.
Reference: Freedom of Expression 101 from the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA).
Link: https://ccla.org/cclanewsite/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Freedom-of-Expression-101-FINAL.pdf.
Limits of Freedom of Expression in Canada
Limits and prohibitions to free speech and expression exist in Canada. These include:
- Hate speech: Speech that incites hatred for specific groups, including people from various ethno-cultural backgrounds is prohibited.
- Inciting threats of harm or violence toward others, ethno-cultural and racialized groups and communities.
- Violent forms of expression: words or images that depict violence toward others, or groups of individuals.
Multi-directional attacks are taking place on citizens' and journalists' rights to the exercise of our Charter rights to freedom of expression in Canada. Governments at all levels, including municipal, provincial, and federal governments, and other actors, attempt to censor and silence free speech of individuals and groups by taking these strategic actions:
Censorship: Governments may censor and remove comments, and limit the free speech of citizens who engage in communications on social media. The B.C. government has repeatedly and directly engaged in censorship and removed comments posted by citizens to their social media feeds, including links and reports of the BC government's own statistical data.
Silencing scientists, experts, and other civil society participants who challenge government actions, decisions, and provide evidence-based science, research, and perspectives that may challenge, or not align with preferred government narratives and perspectives. This can be in the form of "gag orders" that prevent government employees, scientists, and representatives from speaking to the media, or other audiences.
Issuing civil injunctions that interfere with the rights of citizens to protest government actions and decisions they perceive to be harmful to the public interest.
Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP): Legal actions and civil law suits filed against individuals as a means of silencing, intimidating, threatening citizens who engage in free speech that is often critical of governments, elected officials. This can include accusations of "slander" and defamation of public/government officials. The goal of SLAPP legal action appears to be to inhibit and interfere with free speech and opposition.
Police and law enforcement authorities have used the threat of criminal libel in a punitive manner against those who disagree with, and challenge, their use of their powers and authority as agents of the state.
Online and social media attacks, harassment and intimidation: Creating hostile, contemptuous and unsafe online social environments that intimidate, harass and silence people is bad for democracy, and is not in the public interest for Canadians.
- This kind of behaviour limits citizens from hearing and considering perspectives, opinions, and viewpoints from a wide range of people.
- It also stifles healthy debate and questioning of government actions and the consequences of government policies, decisions, and actions that impact citizens. The impacts of these things are experienced in different ways, by different individuals, groups, and communities.
These include:
Using fake accounts on social media: Facebook and Twitter are increasingly being used to attack, silence, and invoke fear in those who express opinions, perspectives, and views that oppose government narratives, edicts, and violations of civil liberties.
Accounts on social media being taken over by malevolent actors to influence the narratives and information can access online.
Disinformation and misinformation bots and campaigns are used to confuse, confound, invoke fear, anxiety to control citizens so they will be more compliant and follow directions of government authorities.
Academic institutions are increasingly having agents and operatives attempting to limit the exercise of free speech and expression at Canadian universities. These appear to be foreign state-driven actions designed to attack, harass, intimidate, silence and threaten those who exercise free speech in Canada.
Report an incident of Censorship in Canada: http://www.censorshiptracker.ca/
Canadian Laws that Protect Free Speech and Expression
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms:
Sec. 2 (b) is the section in the Charter that outlines Canadian's rights to "free speech", or "freedom of expression:"
(b) freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication.
Journalistic Sources Protection Act (2017): “allows journalists to not disclose information or a document that identifies or is likely to identify a journalistic source unless the information or document cannot be obtained by any other reasonable means and the public interest in the administration of justice outweighs the public interest in preserving the confidentiality of the journalistic source.”
References and Resources
Amnesty International Canada. Retrieved from: https://www.amnesty.ca/
BC Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA). Retrieved from: https://bccla.org/
Canadian Coalition on Human Rights in China and Amnesty International Canada. Harassment and Intimidation of Individuals in Canada Working on China-related Human Rights Concerns. Retrieved from: https://amnesty.ca/sites/default/files/Canadian%20Coalition%20on%20Human%20Rights%20in%20China%20-%20Harassment%20Report%20Update%20-%20Final%20Version.pdf.
Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA).Retrieved from: https://ccla.org/.
Cooper, J. (July 4, 2019). In Canada and elsewhere, freedom of speech is on the endangered list. LawNow. Retrieved from: https://www.lawnow.org/in-canada-and-elsewhere-freedom-of-speech-is-on-the-endangered-list/.
Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE). Retrieved from: https://www.cjfe.org/
CJFE’s Censorship Tracker. Retrieved from: http://www.censorshiptracker.ca/
Canadian Press. (May 12, 2020). Coalition decries Canada's 'piecemeal' response to Beijing-sponsored intimidation. Retrieved from: https://ca.news.yahoo.com/coalition-decries-canadas-piecemeal-response-173149352.html.
Government of Canada. Guide to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Retrieved from: https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/how-rights-protected/guide-canadian-charter-rights-freedoms.html.
Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms. Retrieved from: https://www.jccf.ca/.
Kay, B. (November 13, 2019). Free speech in Canada: It was bad five years ago. Do you think it's gotten better since? National Post. Retrieved from: https://nationalpost.com/opinion/free-speech-in-canada-it-was-bad-five-years-ago-do-you-think-its-gotten-better-since.
Mathias, J. (November 13, 2019). Beyond Jordan Peterson: A National Post investigation into the state of free speech on campuses. National Post. Retrieved from: https://nationalpost.com/opinion/beyond-jordan-peterson-free-speech-on-campus?.
Murpy, R. (April 17, 2020). Rex Murphy on COVID-19: The power to censor speech and other great ideas from our Liberal overlords. National Post. Retrieved from: https://nationalpost.com/opinion/rex-murphy-on-covid-19-the-power-to-censor-speech-and-other-great-ideas-from-our-liberal-overlords?video_autoplay=true.
National Post: Free Speech series. Retrieved from: https://nationalpost.com/tag/free-speech.
Reporters Without Borders. World PressFreedom Index. Retrieved from: https://rsf.org/.
Canada's FPI Ranking: https://rsf.org/en/canada
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