Liberals split online harms bill to postpone debate over policing hate speech

The Liberal government is splitting its online harms bill into two separate pieces of legislation in an effort to sidestep a divisive debate over the bill and speed up passage of measures to protect children from online predators.

"Our goal is to work to find consensus among parliamentarians on the things that we can agree to immediately," Justice Minister Arif Virani said Wednesday as he announced the move.

"I believe that protecting kids from violent threats, from child sex predators and from things like revenge porn should be a priority for everyone."

Virani introduced Bill C-63, the Online Harms Act, in February. 

The legislation was written to police harmful content online, including content used to bully a child or encourage a child to harm themselves, hate speech, content that incites violence or terrorism, content that sexualizes children or victims of sexual violence and sexual content that is posted without consent.

The bill passed first reading in the House of Commons in February but has not progressed through Parliament since then.

House stalled over privilege motion

Virani said that since Parliament resumed after the summer break, only one day has been set aside to debate Bill C-63. The justice minister blames the lack of progress on a debate that has jammed up the House for nearly two months now.

That debate stems from a House order that directed the government to hand over unredacted documents related to a now-defunct foundation responsible for doling out hundreds of millions of dollars for green technology projects.

Because the debate is considered a question of privilege, the House has been unable to move forward with most of its usual business.

As long as Conservative MPs continue standing to speak to a Conservative motion related to the documents debate, and as long as the Liberal government refuses to hand over the remaining documents to the House's law clerk, all other work in the House remains stalled.

"If there's people to be held accountable for the lack of time spent on dedicating debate on this bill, that is the obstruction you are seeing in that chamber right behind me," Virani said. 

"That obstruction has caused us to think how we can better use the time, precious time, that we [have] left in this Parliament."

Virani said the Liberals' online harms legislation will now proceed on two different tracks. One bill would tackle protections for children, combating online child sex predators and policing revenge porn.

The second bill would amend the Canadian Human Rights Act and Criminal Code to deal with inciting violence, terrorism or engaging in hate speech.

Virani said that he will not alter the language of Bill C-63 when splitting it into two separate bills, but will remain open to amendments as the legislation works its way through Parliament.

Poilievre would repeal C-63

When the Online Harms Act was introduced earlier this year, the federal government estimated it would take more than 300 people to enforce its measures. Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux issued a report in the summer suggesting staffing and enforcement would cost about $200 million over five years.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has been critical C-63's measures, which would oversee the new rules with a five-member digital safety commission and Heritage department staff. The Conservative leader has said bullying and other forms of online harms should be handled by police, not "pushed off to a new bureaucracy." 

Poilievre said the Liberals government should instead focus on modernizing existing laws. A spokesperson for Poilievre said a future Conservative government would repeal the legislation once it took office.

Other groups, like the B.C. Civil Liberties Association and OpenMedia, have warned that the bill's changes to the Criminal Code could significantly undermine free speech in Canada. 

OpenMedia executive director Matt Hatfield released a statement Wednesday welcoming the decision to set aside the more controversial parts of the Online Harms Act, describing it as a "huge win for Canadians." 

"In a precarious House, Bill C-63 was unlikely to make its way successfully to becoming law shackled to the deeply speech-chilling proposals of [the bill]," he said.

This is not the first time the Liberal government has struggled to move online harms legislation through Parliament. 

In June of 2021, the federal government introduced Bill C-36, legislation meant to crack down on hate propaganda, hate crimes and hate speech.

The government's initial proposals were roundly criticized by privacy experts and civil liberties groups who said its requirement that online platforms remove content flagged as harmful within 24 hours would encourage companies to take an overly cautious approach, resulting in suppression of free speech.

The bill passed first reading in the House but died when the 2021 federal election was called.