Good afternoon. My name is Dania Majid, and I'm here representing the Arab Canadian Lawyers Association.
In 2022, we released a landmark report, “Anti-Palestinian Racism: Naming, Framing and Manifestations”, after extensive consultations. Anti-Palestinian racism is a distinct form of racism that silences, excludes, erases, defames or dehumanizes Palestinians or their narratives. It primarily exists to uphold Israel's occupation, apartheid and now plausible genocide against Palestinians by silencing critics of Israel's treatment of Palestinians, in contravention to international laws. This has resulted in a Palestine exception to freedom of expression, a right that isn't extended equally to expression on Palestine, resulting in widespread repression.
In her authoritative August 2024 report, Irene Khan, UN special rapporteur on freedom of expression and opinion, stated, “The conflict in Gaza has unleashed a global crisis of freedom of expression. Rarely has a conflict challenged freedom of opinion and expression so broadly and so far beyond its borders.” She identified three “challenges to freedom of opinion and expression”: “first, attacks on journalists and media, endangering access to information about [Gaza]; second, the suppression of Palestinian voices and views in a discriminatory and disproportionate manner, undermining academic and artistic freedom [and expression more broadly]; and third, the blurring of the boundaries between protected and prohibited speech.”
Anti-Palestinian racism and repression have intensified in Canada over the past 14 months. The threats to livelihoods, reputations and future prospects are used to silence workers' expression on Palestine, even outside the workplace. There have been numerous public reports of health workers, journalists, artists, lawyers and educators who have been doxed, suspended or terminated for calling for an end to the genocide in their social media posts, participating in protests, signing open letters or simply wearing a Palestinian pin or keffiyeh. The most common excuse given was that the person's expression was deemed anti-Semitic or supporting terrorism. However, where allegations are subject to an investigation or tested by the courts, the expression is found to be neither. Nonetheless, the damage is done.
Also concerning is the unprecedented criminalization of Palestinian speech and protest. The past year has seen approximately a hundred arrests of Palestinian protesters in Toronto alone. Some happened months after the protest. Other arrests were late-night tactical police raids for protesters charged with mischief. Students and protesters have also been subjected to unprovoked brutality on campuses and public streets. Most charges end up being withdrawn. However, those charged have lost employment, are traumatized and suffer reputational damage.
Free expression is a fundamental right enshrined internationally and domestically. It guarantees the right to freely express opinions of all kinds, tolerant or offensive, without interference. It protects the key elements of a thriving democracy, including media freedom, political discourse and criticism of governments and states, academic freedom, human rights advocacy and artistic expression. International law and Canadian courts clearly set out that any restriction of this right must be construed narrowly, equally and precisely and not impact the right itself. We should be highly cautious of permitting any further interference.
Canada has already legislated that advocating for genocide or the promotion or incitement of hatred against an identifiable group is a form of prohibited speech. Courts have set the bar very high on this exception and are clear that it does not include expression that is merely disagreeable, objectionable or even racist. Yet governments, police forces, academic administrations, media, cultural spaces and other institutional actors are systemically distorting free expression principles to label Palestinian expression as hate, to justify punitive measures against our protected speech.