Bill C-250 37th Parliament, 3rd Session, Volume 141, Number 30 Tuesday, April 20, 2004 Senator Angus: Honourable senators, I rise this evening on the subject of Bill C-250, to amend the Criminal Code regarding hate propaganda, and on Senator St. Germain's amendment to this bill.

When Bill C-250 was first introduced in Parliament, I was rather uneasy about it. I felt it to be bad law and not for the purposes intended, as honourable and sensitive as they may have been.

In my view, there are ample and effective provisions in existing Canadian law to protect all individuals on an equal level. This bill strikes me as unnecessary and one that has the potential to lead our justice system down a path that we do not necessarily wish it to follow. The bill could possibly open the floodgates to unintended and undesirable consequences. Indeed, it makes me think of the old maxim of inclusio unius est exclusio alterius, as well as the old adage that two wrongs do not make a right.

I concede that the purport of Bill C-250 is politically correct. However, it in fact tends to accomplish that which it is designed to protect against. It does not establish equality before the law, but rather it creates inequalities between people based upon differences. Bill C-250 raises issues fundamental to the basic fibre of our country.

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Canada is a diverse, pluralistic and tolerant society, one of which we are all proud. As Canadians, we are proud of this rich tapestry, as it has come to be called. Our country and citizens welcome fundamental differences. We embrace variety and we cherish the cultural, racial and other diversity that defines our great nation.

Honourable senators, the underlying basis of our style of democratic society is that individuals are recognized as equal, with equal rights, and the relations and relationships amongst our people are governed by the rule of law. It is in my view difficult to find fault with the words of Thomas Jefferson, who, as we all know, was one the key architects of democracy, the democracy we know and practice here in North America today. He said that all men are created equal and that they are endowed by their Creator with inherent and inalienable rights and that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. I earnestly believe that if Bill C-250 were enacted as drafted this evening, our cherished equality, as spoken of by Thomas Jefferson, could be at risk. No one can deny there are bigoted people in our society that target others based on discriminating factors. These factors are as diverse and varied as our country and society.

I should like for a moment to share some personal elements from my own life. As I have said in this chamber before, I have a daughter who was not fortunate, who has a terrible affliction, a mental illness. I have spent many hours and days in a psychiatric acute care ward in Montreal where I have seen discrimination against an identifiable group, a member of which is my daughter. I have seen it over and over again outside the PACU and in schoolyards where people are different. They are not necessarily of a different sexual persuasion, but they are different from others and from what we call normal. Are they on the list; and, if not, why not and should they be? My reservations about Bill C-250 arise when we start carving out special protections for people with certain differences, ignoring others who also require such protections.

I truly believe this to be a slippery slope. It begs the question of criteria. What are the criteria for a group to become protected under section 318 of the Criminal Code? Presently, section 318 defines an identifiable group as any section of the public distinguished by colour, race, religion or ethnic origin. What are the criteria for a group to be identifiable and protected under this section? How does sexual orientation fit into it? What else could be added? What about severely handicapped individuals like my daughter or those other people who suffer from evident physical or mental disabilities?

Some people would argue that homosexuals should be protected because they are targets for hatred. This sadly is an unfortunate truth, but there are many other identifiable groups that are also frequent targets of hatred in this kind of terrible abuse. It is just impossible, honourable senators, in my respectful view, to identify all groups that are potential targets for hatred and to protect them accordingly, other than under the general Criminal Code and the time-tested laws we have in this country.

In my opinion, it is not the role of government today to carve out another group. This is a systemic problem that can only be alleviated as our society evolves and matures and becomes more sensitive and more tolerant about these kinds of matters.

Honourable senators, governments can only legislate legalities on matters of substance. They cannot and should not try to legislate attitudes. They cannot enforce tolerance, nor should they impose acceptance standards. I believe that what the supporters of this bill are looking for is a shift in attitudes toward gays and lesbians for political reasons, attitudes that cannot be achieved through this or any other decent legislation. Bill C-250 may well accomplish the opposite; in practice, it may actually deepen the divide between homosexual persons and the rest of our population. Categorizing homosexuality as identifiable will perpetrate all of the stereotypes and generalizations that gay and lesbian groups have fought so hard for so long to dissolve. Perhaps another bill should be introduced to amend the Criminal Code by removing entirely the concept of identifiable groups, but that is not the issue before us this evening.

Considering that what we have before us is a proposed amendment to Bill C-250 adding new groups to the list of identifiable groups set forth in section 318 of the Criminal Code, I think it is only appropriate that we as legislators take this opportunity to, at the very least, maintain a certain amount of consistency in our laws. Considering that the 1977 human rights legislation includes people with a pardoned conviction in the list of identifiable groups, is it not logical that pardoned convicts also be protected under section 318 of the Criminal Code? By all intents and purposes, pardoned convicts are as worthy of protection as any other identifiable group. They are the victims of discrimination, targets of hatred and abuse, and are vastly misunderstood. Oftentimes, their conditions stem from factors beyond their control, such as sickness or abuse. If anyone deserves protection, it is people who have served time sometimes unjustly and are trying to integrate back into society to be productive contributors.

The John Howard Society has laid out six main principles surrounding the rights of pardoned convicts and others who have become involved with the law. Those principles are as follows: First, people have a right to live in a safe and peaceful society as well as the responsibility implied by this right to respect the law. Second, every person has intrinsic worth and the right to be treated with dignity, equity, fairness and compassion without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability when involved with the criminal justice process — this list is worth considering for section 318. Third, all people have the potential to become responsible citizens. Fourth, every person has the right and responsibility to be informed about and involved in the criminal justice process. Fifth, justice is best served through measures that resolve conflicts, repair harm and restore peaceful relations in our society. Sixth, independent, autonomous, non-government voluntary organizations have a vital role in the criminal justice process.

Honourable senators, these are just some of the reasons why I am uneasy and feel that C-250 is bad law.

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