SELECTED CASE LAW

BRITISH COLUMBIA:

2017 BCSC 551

In 2017 BCSC 551, Mr. T, a 70-year-old man, was convicted of two counts of willfully promoting hatred. He had brought a constitutional challenge but the court dismissed that application in 2017 BCSC 259. Mr. T hosted a website with anti-Semitic content. He agreed to take down the website following the conviction but did not renounce his views or express remorse for publish-ing the content. The fact that Mr. T had no previous criminal conviction, had contributed to the community, including working with youth and running for political office, and was not a member of a white supremacist or other racist group was taken into consideration during sentencing as mitigating factors. Aggravating factors included the use of the internet to spread his views, which provides a wider audience, the considered and deliberate actions of Mr. T, and his lack of remorse for his action. He was sentenced to a six-month conditional sentence served in the community plus two years of probation, was ordered to remove his website permanently from the internet, and was prohibited from posting anything on the internet for the duration of the conditional sentence, and was prohibited from posting anything about Jewish people for the duration of his probation.

Also see: 2008 BCSC 215; 2008 BCSC 216.

 

Criminal Offence(s): Hate Propaganda