Toronto, February 27, 201 -- B’nai Brith Canada and its League for Human Rights today welcomed the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission v. Whatcott. The League, represented by its national legal counsel Marvin Kurz, was an intervenor before the Court.
Marvin Kurz stated: ”We believe that the Supreme Court of Canada has today struck the right balance between freedom of speech and hateful speech – the first is to be respected, the latter is to be condemned when it crosses the line. As we argued before the court, our organization, which tracks hate activity in Canada, knows all too well that this kind of societal ill continues to exist and must be countered.
"By this unanimous decision, the Supreme Court Justices have reconfirmed the test set out in the Taylor case and by so doing it has reiterated that not only should the hate crime provisions of the Criminal Code stand, but that human rights law, including provincial legislation, has a key role to play in countering hate.
"In light of the Supreme Court's endorsement today of the government's role in countering hate, we hope to see the federal government moving forward to making the amendments to the Criminal Code that we recommended to the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights."
