The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal will not be able to handle the deluge of cases from the Online Harms Act: Dave Snow in the Hub – MLI

August 6, 2024

Dave Snow warns that concerns over the incoming Online Harms Act “overloading” Canada’s human rights institutions seem well-founded.

The Canadian Human Rights Commission appears to be in disarray. Just as its scope is set to rapidly expand under the Online Harms Act, its incoming chief commissioner, expected to start work this week, is under scrutiny for posting social media links comparing Israelis to Nazis, while a Senate committee has accused the entire organization of anti-black racism.

In light of all this, it is worth investigating how Canada’s federal human rights institutions are operating. To do so, I reviewed every published decision at the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal between January 2019 and June 2024.

The results reveal a government organization that has actually issued very few decisions and has limited experience dealing with anything related to online hate speech, particularly antisemitism. Major concerns that the incoming Online Harms Act could “overload” Canada’s human rights institutions seem well-founded.

Read More: https://macdonaldlaurier.ca/the-canadian-human-rights-tribunal-will-not-be-able-to-handle-the-deluge-of-cases-from-the-online-harms-act-dave-snow-in-the-hub/