Is M-103 Really the End of Free Speech?

Short answer? No.

To understand the ramifications of M-103 it is important to understand firstly what a Motion is (as opposed to a Bill) and secondly what exactly is "Freedom of Speech?"

There seems to be a lot of confusion regarding the difference between a Motion and a Bill. They are being treated synonymously and they simply aren't. A Bill (which M-103 is not) is a draft of a proposed law. It can be based on a Motion but a Motion cannot be made into law. A Motion is, quite simply, a proposal to the House to draw attention to an issue. These are two very different types of documents with two very different effects and outcomes.

Liberal MP Iqra Khalid's Motion, which is entitled Systemic Racism and Religious Discrimination, is asking that the Canadian Heritage Committee conduct a study to look at the rise of systemic racism and religious discrimination. While is does specifically mention Islamophobia it also says (in the same sentence) they should study "all forms" of racism and discrimination. It asks that the government use this study to see how it can improve legislation through "evidence based policy making."

Many against the motion have (very loudly) used the argument that antisemitism is a much larger problem than Islamophobia. While this is true, the largest growth in reported hate crimes is against Muslim-Canadians. In fact, incidents have more than doubled in the past three years and race (skin colour) is actually the most common reason a person is targeted.

What tends to get forgotten is that Freedom of Speech is not absolute. Section I of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom allows the government to pass laws that limit free speech/expression as long as those limits are justifiable. This prevents an imbalance between the voices of political parties, the distribution of offencive literature and images such as child pornography, and it also is to protect people from hate speech.

Hate speech is an attack on a person (or group) based on their gender, ethnicity, religion, race, disability, or sexual orientation. It protects people, not ideas. This doesn't mean that you can't publicly criticize Islam anymore than you can't criticize any other religion or ideology.

While it is imparitive that we keep our government accountable for upholding our rights and freedoms we also must keep ourselves accountable by making sure that we, not only, stop spreading misinformation but also not give into fear mongering and hate.