CA — . Gender critical feminism may soon be construed as hate speech in Canada under the Canadian Criminal Code.
Gender critical feminism is a branch of feminism that maintains that one’s objective, biological sex is immutable and should take priority over one’s subjective, self-identified gender. All other principles of gender critical feminism rely on these main principles of biology over ideology. Gender critical feminists are, first and foremost, feminists, and as such we prioritize the rights, safety and dignity of women and children.
As most of you are already familiar with the major issues addressed by gender critical feminism, I will not attempt to list them. However, I would like to highlight that since 2017 when Canada’s House of Commons passed Bill C-16, also known as ‘the bathroom bill’, a great clash has ensued between cradle-to-grave female born people, known as women, and trans-identified males, who call themselves women. It brings me no pleasure to speak against a marginalized group of people, so it must be with great conviction that compels me to do so. Unfortunately, it has become clearly apparent that gender identity ideology and trans rights are in direct conflict with the rights of women and children, and particularly the most vulnerable among them. As this has become increasingly undeniable, trans activists and gender ideologues have intently gone to great lengths to see that this conflict remains unseen.
Women who publicly defend their rights, or even defend their right to defend their rights, are being legally and systematically silenced. Gender critical feminists have been repeatedly labelled as ‘transphobic’ as a manner of censoring our arguments. We have been silenced in the press and on social media; we have been de-platformed from speaking engagements; we have been cancelled; we have had our careers threatened and been fired. We have been harassed, threatened, doxed, assaulted and, in the case of Mich Fest, even murdered. Female-born people who do not acquiesce to the demands of these male-born people seemingly face insurmountable force.
As many of us are well-educated and reasonable people, we attempt to speak out against these injustices through freedom of expression using democratic means, including writing and publication, video blogs, peaceful protest, and other creative means of non-violent expression.Freedom of expression is one of the primary tenets of liberty in Canada, but that may soon change.
Trans activists are cleverly constructing the legal censorship of those of us who still dare to name reality. At the forefront of this charge is trans activist Morgane Oger, who became infamous for convincing the City of Vancouver to defund Canada’s last remaining “female only” rape crisis centre. The Morgane Oger Foundation has been lobbying the Canadian government to regulate the internet, to curb, so-called ‘hate speech’, and on May 16, 2019 delivered testimony to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights. Among the independent websites that Oger has explicitly called upon the government to censor from Canadian eyes is Feminist Current, a publication founded by women’s rights scholar and advocate Meghan Murphy, a longstanding adversary of Oger’s.[1] Since that speech was delivered, two bills have been written that will concurrently address Oger’s demands – one concerning broadcasting, which includes online publications, and the other concerning hate speech. What better way to silence one’s opposition than to have the government censor their publication?!
On November 3, 2020, Liberal Party Member and Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault introduced Bill C-10 to the House of Commons. While officially the bill is said to be (and I quote) “An Act to amend the Broadcasting Act and to make related and consequential amendments to other Acts”, the Conservatives are calling it “the censorship bill”. Bill C-10 will amend the Broadcasting Act to include internet and digital media.[2]
Then, in June of 2021, the Honourable David Lametti, also of the Liberal Party of Canada, introduced Bill C-36, which proposes legislative changes to the Canadian Human Rights Act and to the Criminal Code in order to combat hate speech and hate crimes. According to the Government of Canada, “The bill defines ‘hate speech’ as the content of a communication that expresses detestation or vilification of an individual or group of individuals on the basis of a prohibited ground of discrimination. These grounds of discrimination are race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression…”[3] and others. Furthermore, “These amendments would apply to public communications by individual users on the Internet, including on social media, on personal websites, and in mass emails. For example, they would apply to an individual publishing a blog or posting on a social media platform. They would also apply to operators of websites that primarily publish their own content but also publish comments by users and visitors, including in articles on online newspapers and in user comment sections.”[4] “Operators of these social media platforms are the subject of upcoming engagement by Canadian Heritage, which will outline a proposed approach to regulating social media and harmful content, including hate speech, online.”[5]
According to MP Lametti’s speech given at the virtual press conference on June 23, 2021, “The bill would also establish a tool for those who fear, on reasonable grounds, that another person will commit a hate crime or hate propaganda offence. These individuals would be able to seek a court ordered peace bond with the consent of the Attorney General to prevent those crimes from occurring”[6].
The press conference on Bill C-36 also featured (now former) Minister of Women and Gender Equity, Maryam Monsef, who delivered a confusing message. “You’ve told us that the hate that is experienced online instills fear into you so you stop expressing your opinions because it’s not safe anymore. You’ve told us that you stop participating in public discourse and you’ve told us that our democracy is weakened because of this.”[7] She goes on to add “We’ve all seen the rape threats, the death threats, the vitriol aimed at women and gender diverse people, just for daring to exist on the internet [emphasis added].”[8] While this all sounds very familiar, the irony is that so many women in Canada are on the receiving end of online hate speech directly from gender diverse people and their allies. So, who exactly, is she speaking for? Women, who defend our sex-based rights, are indeed unable to participate in public discourse because the hate that we experience online instills fear into us so that we stop expressing our opinions – hate coming directly from members of the TQ2+ community. One need only briefly peruse the website TERF IS A SLUR to see a sampling documentation of the abuse that we frequently encounter.[9] I cannot help but wonder if MP Monsef was even slightly aware of this dark reality. The fact that Monsef decided to appear in front of a large “progress” pride flag, proudly displaying the trans pride colours of baby blue and baby pink, instead of appearing in front of a suffragette, feminist, or lesbian flag, certainly provides some insight into either her ignorance on this issue, or into her priorities. Although MP Monsef was replaced by MP Marci Ien[10] during the cabinet shuffle following the federal election this past fall, it would do the government well to think of separating the position of “Minister of Women and Gender Equity” into two separate roles – Minister of Women and Minister of Gender Equity – since these two groups are now often in direct conflict over whether or not gender should be equated with sex, and prioritized over it.
Collectively, bills C-10 and C-36 would have devastating effects on both freedom of expression and women’s rights in Canada. They would effectively censor and criminalize gender critical feminism. They would censor our ability to freely speak to our uniquely sex-based experiences, to biological reality, and to our ability to name our oppressors. This is the ultimate twenty-first century practice of misogynistic, sex-based female oppression. Thankfully, the recent prorogation of parliament means that “bills which have not received Royal Assent before prorogation are ‘entirely terminated’ and, in order to be proceeded with in the new session, must be reintroduced as if they had never existed. (Parliament of Canada; House of Commons Procedure and Practice; the Parliamentary Cycle; Prorogation and Dissolution; Effects of Prorogation). With a re-elected Liberal government we can be certain that these bills will be re-introduced in the very near future. Bill C-10 had passed it’s third reading and was already at the Senate Committee before the prorogation.
Thousands of women have already been banned from various popular social media sites. We are reported to site administrators for the most innocuous statements – statements that many would consider common sense speech. Stating basic knowledge of human anatomy and physiology is now considered ‘hate speech’ according to the rules of social media. And so, I believe that it is not unreasonable to surmise that if these bills were passed and the Canadian government regulates the operation of social media sites, that gender critical feminism will be construed as hate speech. We have already seen this happening in the UK, where feminist Kellie-Jay Keen was arrested for her tweets.[11] And, we have seen how Scottish feminist Marion Millar was arrested for tweeting a photo of a suffragette ribbon that was tied to a fence.[12] Naming reality and telling the objective truth, based on scientific fact, is being outlawed in Canada. We have recently seen this explicitly in the courts of British Columbia, where using one’s preferred pronouns is now mandatory, despite the objections from several members of the Law Society of British Columbia.[13] Their request for debate was said to be akin to “hate speech”[14] by a ruling member of the Canadian Bar Association British Columbia Branch.[15] This sets a perilous precedent.
The protection of gender critical feminism is not only important to the rights, dignity and safety of women and children, but also to the healthy practices of academia, free speech, and democracy and therefore must be preserved.
Perhaps trans activist and professional dominatrix Hailey Heartless described the situation best when he tweeted: “The difference between us is, women like me get podiums, radio interviews, book deals, meetings with lawmakers and national audiences, women like you get your little niche newsletter and your slowly disappearing ‘safe spaces’.”[16] Although he was mocking us, he was right. And once trans rights lobbyists, like Morgane Oger, are consulted by the Canadian government for their input on what to ban specifically, those newsletters and our voices will be lost.
We must refuse to be silenced, censored, and subjugated.
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The time to speak up is now, before women are silenced and punished by the law like the so-called “witches” who were burned alive during the 16th and 17th centuries. The time to speak up is now, before one more woman is fired from her academic post for maintaining that sex is an immutable trait. The time to speak up is now, before one more Canadian female author is doxed and forced to live in exile in Mexico. The time to speak up is now, before the concept of female loses all meaning in the collective consciousness. The time to speak up is now, before one more man is credited as being the “first ever female to…” achieve a certain distinction that has always been held by males. The time to speak up is now, before one more female author’s feminist book is banned from local bookstores and burned by gender ideologues. The time to speak up is now, before one more woman fleeing abuse and poverty is forced to sleep on the cold streets at night while men occupy beds in her local women’s shelters. The time to speak up is now, before one more teenage girl has her healthy breasts surgically removed because she is fleeing womanhood like a house on fire. The time to speak up is now, before one more man from drag queen story hour for children turns out to be a registered sex offender. The time to speak up is now, before one more male rapist and murderer is transferred into a women’s prison, like a lion entering a cage of gazelles. The time is now, before one more female athlete has her skull smashed in like a tin can by a male opponent who identifies as a woman. The time to speak up and write to your Member of Parliament is now, before bills C-10 and C-36 are re-introduced to Parliament. The time is to speak up is now, before democracy receives another blow!
CALL TO ACTION
Those wishing to express their views on these bills may contact the following:
Ministry of Women, Gender Equality, and Youth
Email: [email protected]
1. https://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/42-1/JUST/meeting-150/evidence#Int-10636825
2. https://www.parl.ca/legisinfo/en/bill/43-2/c-10
3. https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/csj-sjc/pl/chshc-lcdch/index.html
4. https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/csj-sjc/pl/chshc-lcdch/index.html
5. https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/csj-sjc/pl/chshc-lcdch/index.html
6. https://youtu.be/dz8RpUm4D5I (5:05)
7. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dz8RpUm4D5I (16:47)
8. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dz8RpUm4D5I (17:40)
10. https://www.ourcommons.ca/members/en/marci-ien(107097)
11. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/03/20/second-woman-investigated-police-transphobic-comments/
12. https://www.holyrood.com/news/view,joanna-cherry-to-defend-woman-charged-with-communications-offences
13. https://vancouversun.com/opinion/columnists/mlord-mlady-which-pronoun-do-you-prefer
14. https://www.cbabc.org/News-Media/Announcements/2021/Message-to-CBABC-Members-Law-Society-of-BC-Resolu
15. https://www.cbabc.org/News-Media/Announcements/2021/Message-to-CBABC-Members-Law-Society-of-BC-Resolu
16. Source: Twitter
Excellent article, thank you for writing it!
Happily, I feel like I haven’t heard *anything* about Hailey Heartless lately (his Charlie Sheen style “WINNING!” declaration notwithstanding).
We are going to turn the tide, but it’s going to take all of us.
So they can’t regulate the internet unless puuuurvy men tell them to…..the writing is on the wall. We are in a new Dark Ages
“Naming reality and telling the objective truth, based on scientific fact, is being outlawed in Canada”
It’s completely insane. This law, if enacted, deserves to be remembered alongside the Church’s condemnation of Galileo for daring to say that the Earth orbits the Sun.
Americans, be grateful for the First Amendment. This is the kind of thing that happens when free speech is at the mercy of ordinary legislation.
Agreed. It was due to this that I really realized the importance of our First Amendment. It looks like attempts to restrict speech beyond the limits already placed will simply allow for abuse.
Several people in the UK like Katie Scottow, Harry Miller and Margaret Nelson have been arrested or interrogated by police for acknowledging biological sex or referring to men as men. It looks like Canada will do the same. That’s very disturbing when you consider that these are basic facts that everyone – those imposing these laws included – is aware of. A country is at a very disturbing and dangerous place when the truth becomes illegal and stating a truth becomes an arrestable or punishable offense.
Thank you for highlighting the significance of this as a GLOBAL issue Diana. One of the more devious effects of the Publication bill, as it was proposed, is that it would enable the Canadian government to censor sites like Women Are Human, as well as other U.K. based gender critical publications. Therefore, Canadians will be cut off from GC news as it is happening in other countries.
As always, thank you for your support.
Hello Infidel,
We do have “Freedom of Expression” in Canada, protected under the Charter of Rights, but there is a proposed amendment will limit that freedom if it crosses into hate speech or child pornography. (Part 1; 2b)
Unfortunately, someone waved our sex-based Charter Rights in the face of Oger during a Twitter dispute, thus drawing his attention to the matter that the Charter would have to be amended if his gender identity is to be fully validated by federal law.
Simone XX
I had to scroll up to see who you were responding to after you said “Hello Infidel”
😂😂😂
Sex is protected in the Charter and the Canadian Human Rights act. They can’t criminalize sex-based rights or debate. It would break the law.
As noted in another comment, we do have “Freedom of Expression” in Canada, protected under the Charter of Rights, but there is a proposed amendment will limit that freedom if it crosses into hate speech or child pornography. (Part 1; 2b) Unfortunately, someone waved our sex-based Charter Rights in the face of Oger during a Twitter dispute, thus drawing his attention to the matter that the Charter would have to be amended if his gender identity is to be fully validated by federal law.
“How does the Charter work with other Canadian laws?
The Constitution is the supreme law of Canada; all other laws must be consistent with the rules set out in it. If they are not, they may not be valid. Since the Charter is part of the Constitution, it is the most important law we have in Canada.
However, the rights and freedoms in the Charter are not absolute. They can be limited to protect other rights or important national values. For example, freedom of expression may be limited by laws against hate propaganda or child pornography. ”
https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/how-rights-protected/guide-canadian-charter-rights-freedoms.html
Criticism of gender identity ideology is not “hatred”. Recognizing the fact of a person’s biological sex is not intrinsically “hateful”. I get so sick of the disingenuous assertions to the contrary.
I truly hope that Canada is able to turn back before heading inexorably down this path towards totalitarianism.
I don’t know, I’m starting to get there
T using the entire gamut of the tools of the patriarchy. No wonder so many fall for it ….. we are used to it after nearly 4000 years of gaslighting and violence.
A social worker I know is absolutely captured to keep her job. I don’t think she even thinks about it. I have to be extremely careful around her so she won’t turn on me hopefully as no one likes a bigot mirite?
This all is SUCH a religion. Now Stonewall is advocating corrective rape of lesbians and calling it “sexual racism” if lesbians won’t have sex with “transwomen”….I do wonder when people will wake up
The “Speech from the Throne” is being televised right now as the new Parliament is sworn in. Each party will give a speech about their intentions for the next few years. I am certain that we will hear, from the Liberal party and perhaps the NDP too, about re-introducing these bills to “combat hate speech online”.
Will the recent SCC decision on Ward/Gabriel affair change how legislators redraft these bills?
That’s an interesting question Marie Simone. Only time will tell.
For those not familiar with the case, Ward v Gabriel, in the Supreme Court of Canada, here is some info:
https://ipolitics.ca/2021/10/29/top-court-sides-with-comic-who-mocked-disabled-singer/
I think it definitely highlights that there can be other reasons for being singled out and criticized, which is something that I have been thinking about regarding one politico wannabe trans rights lobbyist who fails to take into consideration any accountability on why he might be unpopular with certain groups of people.
Honorable Ien,
A neighbor to your south who is very concerned about the attack on women’s sex-based right, I am writing to appeal to your sense of justice regarding bills such as C-36. If reintroduced and passed these bills would effectively undermine freedom of expression. But not just any free of expression. They would criminalize a woman like myself who states an objective, scientifically validated fact such as “a person with a penis is not a woman” or an opinion based on fact such as “women’s sex-based rights are important.”
If this is hate speech then the violent, threatening, abusive, dehumanizing statements trans-activists bombard women like myself with are CLEARLY HATE SPEECH. Please peruse this website for examples of the hate speech of trans-activists use on social media towards women like myself who they’ve derogatorily named “terfs”. https://terfisaslur.com/
As a European and American citizen, I’ve always looked up to Canada as a country that takes care of all its people. Laws prioritizing subjective gender-identity over objective sex-based identity of a class of people who have historically been oppressed is in many women’s opinion unjust and unacceptable.
I will not sit back and let testosterone overrun women’s hard-earned rights. Trans-rights and women’s rights can coexist and it’s up to legislators to word laws that make that happen.
I hope you’ll consider a more balanced position on the matter.
I tried to write to Marci Ien but this is not the correct person as I wrote to her and her team let me know. Also, tried to start a petition in Canada by asking for help from the WHRC in Ontario but they are focussed on reducing harm to young girls who are indoctrinated to become trans (worthy cause). Can anyone point us in the correct direction to start a petition? Never done this before.
Simone, the author, updated the contact information about a week ago to the best contact person for the issue.
Hello Joey,
Thank you for writing your letter to MP Marci Ein.
I received a reply from my initial email to her that the email address I’d sent to was for matters only concerning Toronto Central, her constituency. I was referred to an alternate email address, [email protected] , which we updated at the end of this article. If she is still refusing to acknowledge that women’s concerns over gender ideology is not her domain, even when they are sent to the designated email address, then why is she even acting in an official capacity as, and I quote “Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth (Offices and Roles as a Parliamentarian)”? As women, it is her sworn obligation to represent us!
Though these two bills are no longer on the table, since the federal election and cabinet reshuffle, mark my words, they WILL be reintroduced. And, when re-introduced they may move through the House of Commons at lightening speed, as the bill against “conversion therapy” just did. Therefore we mustn’t wait until they are re-introduced before we begin counter-arguments and expressing our concerns. We need to address this now, before it is too late.
ALL OF OUR GENDER CRITICAL CONCERNS ARE DEPENDENT UPON OUR RIGHTS TO FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND FREEDOM OF SPEECH. IF GENDER IDENTITY AND GENDER EXPRESSION ARE ADDED TO THE GROUNDS OF PROHIBITED DISCRIMINATION FOR HATE SPEECH, WE WILL BE SILENCED, OR WORSE TAKEN TO THE HUMAN RIGHTS TRIBUNAL (OR THE EQUIVALENT IN THE U.S.) FOR BREACH OF COMMUNICATION LAWS AND HATE SPEECH LAWS.
As for WHRC, I will contact you personally on that.
– Simone XX
Thankfully I don’t live in Canada. But I’m legit scared for the future, for all women across the world both who are now adult and the little girls growing up in a world where trans are attempting to run the show. Their safety is more and more fragile as days go by. I can’t believe this is really going on. Feels like a nightmare. May we wake up soon and put an end to the madness.
Stay strong sisters, from the Suffragists until today, Women’s Liberation will never die.
The Online Harms Act was in reintroduced in Canada on February 26, 2024. Please read it carefully and be aware of the legal implications.
“Hate Crime
Offence motivated by hatred
320.1001 (1) Everyone who commits an offence under
this Act or any other Act of Parliament, if the commission
of the offence is motivated by hatred based on race, national
or ethnic origin, language, colour, religion, sex, 5
age, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, or
gender identity or expression, is guilty of an indictable
offence and liable to imprisonment for life.”
https://www.parl.ca/Content/Bills/441/Government/C-63/C-63_1/C-63_1.PDF