On February 19, 2021, in another free speech win for the Canadian Constitution Foundation, Justice Davies ruled:
I find that section 91(1) of the CEA violates section 2(b) of the Charter and is not saved under section 1. Pursuant to s. 52(1) of the Constitution Act, 1982, section 91(1) of the CEA is of no force or effect.
The decision, Canadian Constitution Foundation v. Canada (Attorney General), 2021 ONSC 1224, strikes down the election censorship provision of the Canada Elections Act because in 2019 Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government removed the word “knowingly’ from the Act.
In other words, if you published a false statement that you did not know was false, you could still be fined and imprisoned under the Liberal version of the law.
The Elections Act amendment was one of many changes made in the Liberal government’s ongoing efforts to stifle free speech in Canada. Their dogged determination to censor the Internet to ‘protect Canadians’ is the major effort that is still ongoing.
From the Canadian Constitution Foundation’s press release:
“Today’s decision is a major victory for Canadian voters and for freedom of expression,” said CCF Executive Director, Joanna Baron.
“The court struck down the provision of the Canada Election Act that prohibited publishing false statements because the government had removed the requirement to prove that the publisher knew the statements were false.”
“This legislation had the potential to fine and even imprison people for honest mistakes. This would create a chilling effect on the free exchange of political ideas and opinions, and the law acts as a form of unjustified censorship. We are thrilled that the law has been struck down. This result will improve the electoral process and also protects the fundamental right to freedom of expression.”
If you haven’t donated to the Canadian Constitution Foundation lately, please donate to the CCF today. They continue to beat back the government’s attempts to violate the rights of all Canadians and are worthy of your support.
Canada Elections Act, Section 91:
Publishing false statement to affect election results
- 91(1) No person or entity shall, with the intention of affecting the results of an election, make or publish, during the election period,
- (a)a false statement that a candidate, a prospective candidate, the leader of a political party or a public figure associated with a political party has committed an offence under an Act of Parliament or a regulation made under such an Act — or under an Act of the legislature of a province or a regulation made under such an Act — or has been charged with or is under investigation for such an offence; or
- (b)a false statement about the citizenship, place of birth, education, professional qualifications or membership in a group or association of a candidate, a prospective candidate, the leader of a political party or a public figure associated with a political party.
A big thumbs up to the CCF. You have won the battle but the war continues. It seems awful suspicious that when one type of censorship is defeated in the courts, it only take a few days for the Liberals to come up with another.
Bill C-10 will attack social media to prohibit any kind of free thought you may have. Users will not be able to criticize any government act without penalty. You will not be able to say any thing against anybody at any time, even if what you say is known to be true. Once again Justin Trudeau is leading us down the garden path to socialism and who knows what else?
The liberals have to be elected out of office and never be allowed to return. We have to take our country back, after all they are supposed to work for us. If I am correct there is a push going on now to have recall of elected officials who do not do their job. We have a recall system in place in some of the provinces, to do just that.
I can’t think of a better time to bring this in to the Federal level I see it as a way to rid ourselves of the governing part if they don’t do the job they were elected to do. It should also include a section that covers electoral promises made by the party leaders. If they can’t live up to their platform promises within a specified time period then they should be fired outright. I for one am tired of the Liberal BS.
If this is just one I wonder how many other unconstitutional things the Libs have done or trying to do. The PM is a traitor in my eyes. How many more Canadians see it?
I agree, he should be charged with treason. Just think, if this bill was passed we would not be able to write our thoughts on this or anything else the liberals do.