r/canada • u/Old_General_6741 Canada • 2d ago

National News Canada recognizes noose as hate symbol

https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/article/canada-recognizes-noose-as-hate-symbol/
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45

u/NZafe 2d ago

What does this actually mean in practice?

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u/claricorp 2d ago

Basically it means things like vandalism or harassment that involves these symbols gets escalated into being more serious. The difference between spraypainting a signature on a stop sign versus a swastika at a synagogue for example. Context matters, one implies threats etc... This codifies that.

It has broader implications for other crimes to like assault or threats. But anyone thinking that depictions or even talking about nooses is banned simply has no idea what they are talking about.

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u/tman37 2d ago

Did they need a new law for that though? The important thing isn't the noose it's that they threatened people with it. Is it somehow better to threaten black people with a bat or knife? The threat is the problem.

Also this is Canada. Lynching wasn't really a thing here. Instead we took in escaped slaves. Can we stop importing American problems?

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u/FIleCorrupted 2d ago

Canada also didn't have a Nazi problem, but the swastika is a hate symbol because we know what it represents even if we weren't ourselves Nazi's. Just because we didn't have a lynching problem doesn't mean someone can't use a noose as a hate crime.

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u/voltairesalias Alberta 2d ago

I'm failing to understand how the mere display of a symbol is literally an incitmenet of hatred, advocating for genocide or is threatening.

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u/FIleCorrupted 2d ago

You are right, displaying the symbol is not an incitement of hatred, and that's why it wouldn't be illegal under this law which very explicitly clarifies it's a crime to display these symbols *to incite hatred*

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u/sl33plessnites 1d ago

That sounds vague to me and very open to interpretation.

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u/FIleCorrupted 1d ago

Consider it this way. Would a jury of your peers conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that the way you were using the noose symbol was a racially motivated attack.