Tuesday, July 15, 2025

these guys are idiots, clearly. however, waving a flag at a concert has nothing to do with what hate crime legislation is in canada, and this confusion needs to be addressed because it is extremely dangerous. it threatens to criminalize free speech, which is what this actually is.

the easiest way to understand this is that a hate crime in canada has to be a crime before it is a hate crime. the hate part refers to the motive of the crime. examples of crimes that might become hate crimes include assault, arson and vandalism; if you assault somebody because they're a jew, or burn down a church because it's black, or spray paint anti-queer propaganda on a wall downtown, you may be subject to greater sentencing if the court determines your motive is hate. a non-hate crime assault might land you 10 years in jail, whereas a hate-motivated assault could land you 15 or 20, if the judge decides it.

hate crime legislation in canada is not about criminalizing free speech, although there are very limited provisions in the criminal code (and subject to being interpreted via existing precedent) that will criminalize speech that is intended to create actual, foreseeable harm. this is extremely stringent. in order to be sent to jail for this reason, the crown has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that violence is imminent and that your threats and language are a clear and present danger to a specific community.

these goofs are of no threat to anything other than their own artistic reputation.

that said, if anybody has any evidence of sending actual money to hezbollah, that's a different story. you can't do that, and you should be banned from the country if you did.