Constitutional lawyer asks MPs to stop bills that censor free speech
Lawyer Josh Dehaas urged a parliamentary committee to repeal existing online censorship laws and halt new bills that would further clamp down on free speech.
While speaking before a parliamentary committee, constitutional lawyer Josh Dehaas called on Ottawa to stop laws criminalizing Holocaust denial and so-called residential school denialism in their tracks, warning that while such expressions may cause pain, punishing Canadians for speech crosses a dangerous line into state censorship.
During a standing committee on Procedure and House Affairs, Dehaas, the litigation director for the Canadian Constitution Foundation, warned MPs that limitations of free expression in Canada are undermining civic resilience, and recommended several ways for the federal government to reverse course and uphold constitutional freedoms.
