From the Toronto Globe & Mail:

Justice Minister defends house arrest power for people feared to commit a hate crime in future

MARIE WOOLF
OTTAWA
PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 28, 2024

Justice Minister Arif Virani [An Ismaili Muslim born in Uganda, right] has defended a new power in the online harms bill to impose house arrest on someone who is feared to commit a hate crime in the future—even if they have not yet done so already.

The person could be made to wear an electronic tag, if the attorney-general requests it, or ordered by a judge to remain at home, the bill says.

Mr. Virani, who is Attorney-General as well as Justice Minister, said it is important that any peace bond be “calibrated carefully,” saying it would have to meet a high threshold to apply.

But he said the new power, which would require the attorney-general’s approval as well as a judge’s, could prove “very, very important” to restrain the behaviour of someone with a track record of hateful behaviour who may be targeting certain people or groups.

If “there’s a genuine fear of an escalation, then an individual or group could come forward and seek a peace bond against them and to prevent them from doing certain things.”

The bill would allow people to file complaints to the Canadian Human Rights Commission over what they perceive as hate speech online—including, for example, off-colour jokes by comedians. People found guilty of posting hate speech could have to pay victims up to $20,000 in compensation.

In the United States, there are likely thousands of murders annually that grow out of beefs on social media platforms. Black big city police chiefs complain about it all the time. But I’ve never heard of anybody suggesting we should, you know, think about how to do something about this. In contrast, there is endless concern in the media over political beefs online.

Makes you wonder…