Justice committee  Again, I would say, even if a particular building or a particular place doesn't have a formal connection to a particular group, that doesn't stop people who espouse these hateful ideas and ideologies from trying to marginalize and vilify groups based on their own perceptions that

Justice committee  That's correct. You have to remember, as I mentioned, that these are message crimes, and that the message is still heard, even if it's targeted at a place that is not traditionally frequented by a particular faith group. It's still heard by the people from that group, as well as

Justice committee  I think it would seem to broaden it and it would certainly seem to be an attempt to capture more of what is actually happening out there. If you maintain it as it is, you could have incidents occurring that are increasing the sense of alienation and marginalization of specific gr

Justice committee  Yes. I think the example you used of the LGBTQ community was an excellent one, that they can sometimes be connected with various other different organizations, allied businesses, and so forth, and as a result of that, be exposed to potentially greater targeting. I would not be s

Justice committee  Yes, we do.

Justice committee  Obviously, sacred spaces, as I mentioned, hold a particular importance in the hearts and minds of those who frequent them. At the same time, I think the hatred committed—such as a swastika drawn anywhere—would be offensive to anyone. Regardless of where it is posted, it's equally

Justice committee  I think you need to look at it, and I think you need to look at the context, as I said. Even if there is no direct connection to a particular faith community, many of the employees who work in a particular building may be of a particular faith group. The school in London, Ontario

Justice committee  I would be inclined to agree with you, that it's necessary to be able to identify that there are indicators of hate motivation behind the particular act of mischief, in order to make those kinds of conclusions. I think we need to look at that and look at the incident itself, as I

Justice committee  Right. To be clear, I'm coming to the committee today speaking from a community-based perspective and not necessarily as someone with a background in law. We do have lawyers and people on staff who would be able to provide a more in-depth answer to your question as it relates to

Justice committee  I appreciate that and I understand the dilemma. As I mentioned earlier, you worry about growth and creep and having to increase the number of places that are included. Again, I would point to the fact that hatred generally knows no limits and no bounds, and it targets all groups

Justice committee  I think it's important that we recognize that hatred can target anywhere. Obviously, there are certain places that are more likely to be targeted, and of course I can understand that you want to avoid having and creating a growing and growing list of different places. I think the

Justice committee  I want to make sure I understand. Is your concern that there is an overly broad definition and it might be applicable to a variety of different spaces?

Justice committee  In my reading of the proposed bill, it was pretty clear about which kinds of spaces would be added to the definition, including places like community centres, seniors homes, and so forth. I didn't see any reference to the places that you mentioned. If they are included, then obvi

Justice committee  In terms of the actual events themselves, I think you need to look at a combination of things. You need to look at the location, as well as any indication that there was motivation of hate. For example, I'm just thinking that the Muslim community has prayers that it conducts so

Justice committee  Thank you very much for that question. As I mentioned in my closing statement, we are calling on all parties to support Bill C-305. In terms of suggested amendments or improvements, I would encourage the committee to make sure that it hears from a variety of stakeholders, incl