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==Amendments to the ''Canadian Human Rights Act''== |
==Amendments to the ''Canadian Human Rights Act''== |
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When enacted into law, the bill would amend the ''[[Canadian Human Rights Act]]'' by adding "gender identity or expression" as a prohibited ground of discrimination.<ref>[http://www.parl.gc.ca/content/hoc/Bills/421/Government/C-16/C-16_1/C-16_1.PDF Bill C-16 (2016), clause 2.]</ref> That would make it illegal to deny services, employment, accommodation and similar benefits to individuals based on their gender identity or gender expression within a federal regulated industry. A person who denies benefits because of the gender identity or gender expression of another person could be liable to provide monetary reimbursement. This prohibition would only apply to matters within federal jurisdiction. |
When enacted into law, the bill would amend the ''[[Canadian Human Rights Act]]'' by adding "gender identity or expression" as a prohibited ground of discrimination.<ref>[http://www.parl.gc.ca/content/hoc/Bills/421/Government/C-16/C-16_1/C-16_1.PDF Bill C-16 (2016), clause 2.]</ref> That would make it illegal to deny services, employment, use the 'Wrong' pronouns, accommodation and similar benefits to individuals based on their gender identity or gender expression within a federal regulated industry. A person who denies benefits because of the gender identity or gender expression of another person could be liable to provide monetary reimbursement. This prohibition would only apply to matters within federal jurisdiction. |
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==Amendments to the ''Criminal Code''== |
==Amendments to the ''Criminal Code''== |
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Revision as of 13:34, 3 June 2017
| An Act to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code (Bill C-16, 2016) | |
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| Legislative history | |
| Bill citation | Bill C-16 of 2016 |
| Introduced by | Jody Wilson-Raybould, Minister of Justice |
| First reading | May 17, 2016 |
| Second reading | Oct 18, 2016 |
| Third reading | Nov 18, 2016 |
| Summary | |
| To enforce the use of the 'right' words | |
An Act to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code (Bill C-16, 2016) is a bill introduced in the Parliament of Canada on May 17, 2016 by the Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. If enacted, the bill will add "gender expression or identity" as a protected ground to the Canadian Human Rights Act, and also to the Criminal Code provisions dealing with hate propaganda, incitement to genocide, and aggravating factors in sentencing.
The bill must pass the legislative process in the House of Commons, then the Senate, and finally receive Royal Assent before it becomes law.[1][2]
Summary
The summary of Bill C-16 is as follows:
The bill is intended to protect individuals from discrimination within the sphere of federal jurisdiction and from being the targets of hate propaganda,[3] as a consequence of their gender identity or their gender expression. The bill adds “gender identity or expression” to the list of prohibited grounds of discrimination in the Canadian Human Rights Act and the list of characteristics of identifiable groups protected from hate propaganda in the Criminal Code. It also adds that evidence that an offence was motivated by bias, prejudice or hate based on a person’s gender identity or expression constitutes an aggravating circumstance for a court to consider when imposing a criminal sentence.[4]
Amendments to the Canadian Human Rights Act
When enacted into law, the bill would amend the Canadian Human Rights Act by adding "gender identity or expression" as a prohibited ground of discrimination.[5] That would make it illegal to deny services, employment, use the 'Wrong' pronouns, accommodation and similar benefits to individuals based on their gender identity or gender expression within a federal regulated industry. A person who denies benefits because of the gender identity or gender expression of another person could be liable to provide monetary reimbursement. This prohibition would only apply to matters within federal jurisdiction.
Amendments to the Criminal Code
The bill would amend the Criminal Code by adding "gender identity or expression" to the definition of "identifiable group" in section 318.[6] That amendment would make it a criminal offence to spread hate propaganda based on gender identity or gender expression, and would also make it a criminal offence to advocate genocide because of gender identity or gender expression[7].
Bill C-16 would also add "gender identity or expression" to section 718.2 of the Criminal Code.[8] This section is part of the sentencing provisions and would make gender identity and gender expression an aggravating factor, which would be the bias, prejudice or hate to commit a criminal offence against the targeted person. These criminal prohibitions would apply throughout Canada.
Predecessor bills
The Act is the most recent iteration of several proposed bills introduced to previous parliaments. In 2005, New Democratic Party MP Bill Siksay introduced a bill in the House of Commons to explicitly add "gender identity or expression" as prohibited grounds of discrimination in the Canadian Human Rights Act. He reintroduced the bill in 2006. In May 2009, he introduced it again, with additional provisions to add gender identity and gender expression to the hate crimes provisions of the Criminal Code.[9] In February 2011, it passed third reading in the House of Commons with support from all parties, but was not considered in the Senate before Parliament was dissolved for the 41st Canadian federal election. Two bills, C-276 and C-279, on the subject were introduced in the 41st Canadian Parliament by both the Liberals and the NDP, respectively. The NDP's Bill C-279 passed second reading on June 6, 2012.[10] However, that bill again died on the Senate order paper when the 2015 federal election was called.
References
- ^ LegisInfo (42nd Parliament, 1st Session).
- ^ LEGISinfo - House Government Bill C-16 (42-1)
- ^ Library of Parliament: "Hate Propaganda".
- ^ https://lop.parl.ca/About/Parliament/LegislativeSummaries/bills_ls.asp?Language=E&ls=C16&Mode=1&Parl=42&Ses=1&source=library_prb
- ^ Bill C-16 (2016), clause 2.
- ^ Bill C-16 (2016), clause 3.
- ^ http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-46/page-72.html#h-93
- ^ Bill C-16 (2016), clause 4.
- ^ "(NDP)". Ndp.ca. 2011-02-18. Retrieved 2011-02-23.
- ^ "Gender identity bill passes second reading". Ndp.ca. 2012-06-06. Retrieved 2012-06-15.
External links
House Government Bill C-16: An Act to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code
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