Apparently Canada does not allow freedom of speech.

Question

it is freedom of speech is all I said and apparently Canada doesn’t allow it

Answer 1

The claim that Canada does not allow free speech is false. Canada protects freedom of speech and expression under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, though it has more regulations than the United States. 

The Charter is part of Canada's constitution and protects the basic rights of everyone in the country. It guarantees freedoms such as expression, religion, and peaceful assembly, ensuring that the government cannot take these rights away without a justified reason. 

Section 2(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms states, “Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms: freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of press and other media of communication.” The confusion of the claim, originally made from what appears to be a deactivated BlueSky post, likely stems from Section 1 of the Charter, which notes that these rights are subject to “reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.” 

This means that freedom of expression is not absolute. Canadians are free to express their opinions and participate in peaceful demonstrations unless they infringe on the rights of others or harm public interest. For example, expressions that take the form of hate speech, threats of violence, or slander are not protected. 

The Supreme Court of Canada reinforced this principle in the Irwin Toy Ltd. v. Quebec (1989) case, where it ruled that limits on expression can be justified if they serve an important public purpose. In this case, a ban on target advertising to children was upheld because it protected vulnerable audiences, even though advertising is a form of free expression. 

The Charter’s phrase of “justified in a free and democratic society” means that the government can only limit rights for strong, reasonable purposes, like protecting public safety. Canada balances freedom of speech with social responsibility; the Government cannot restrict expression simply because they disagree with someone's opinion.

Comments

This is a great factcheck which examines the intricacies and implications of Canada's constitution. I really appreciate that you included the 1989 Supreme Court of Canada case that reinforces the limits on free expression, as well as links to both the court case and the Charter. I also liked that you made the connection to the rights of expression within the United States, a country which often serves as the baseline for these freedoms. Your answer is made very clear by your concluding paragraph and neatly sums up your evidence and argument.

Answer 2

I wouldn't say that Canada doesn't allow freedom of speech, rather they have constitutionally protected and very limited freedom of speech and expression. In Section 2 of Canadas Charter of Rights and Freedoms it lists freedom of speech and expression as one of their fundamental freedoms. 

If we read section 2 it tells us, "We’re free to think our own thoughts, speak our minds, listen to views of others and express our opinions in creative ways." countering your idea that Canada does not allow freedom of speech. As I mentioned before though, there are some limitations to the freedom of speech allowed. If we read further into the charter we see it says, "In addition, the Charter does not protect expression such as hate speech that involves threats of violence or that takes the form of violence. The media also have certain fundamental freedoms, and are free to print and broadcast news and other information." proving that, much like the United States, there are some limitations to free speech and expression.

If we look at Section 319 (1) of Canadas Criminal Laws though we can see that under the freedom of speech and expression, if violated or used in a negative way, there are consequences up to jail time. 

Comments

I thought your usage of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms was a very reliable and credible source which led to your conclusion being very accurate due to your research being straight from the Law. This immediately made me a lot more interested in your comment and your conclusion due to the sources you used. Good job on the research and conclusion!

---

I think using Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms as a source is a great way to emphasize how Canada protects freedom of speech while not allowing violent or hate speech.

---

I appreciate how you provided a thorough explanation of the protection of freedom of speech in Canada. By referencing Section 2 of the Charter rights clarify that freedom of expression is indeed a fundamental right. To strengthen your fact check, explain why these limitations are there. Also an additional source to build an even stronger response. Overall, you do a great job on identifying the misconceptions  of Canada and their lacking of freedom of speech.

Answer 3

This statement to a degree is true. Canada allows Freedom of Expression but does not clearly state that they allow Freedom of speech. Article 19's definition of Freedom of Expression states, "Freedom of expression is the freedom for us all to express ourselves. It is the right to speak, to be heard, and to participate in political, artistic, and social life. It also includes the ‘right to know’: the right to seek, receive, and share information through any media." (Article 19) Just because you are able to express yourself, it doesn't mean that you have the automatic right to say whatever you want. You are able to speak whatever you want, when you want according to this definition. But there are some limitations.

So in relation to Canada and According to the National Post, "Yes, 'freedom of expression' is guaranteed by our Charter of Rights and Freedoms, but there’s a pretty big loophole nobody mentions. The preamble to the Charter explicitly mentions that this freedom is subject to 'reasonable limits.'" (National Post). People in Canada are granted freedom of speech in the lines of freedom of expression but the actual words that that grant them true freedom of speech aren't actually stated. There are fine lines that imply Canadians' freedom of speech but just because it's implied, it doesn't mean it's stated, and fully true.

Lastly, I will touch on a section of text in The House of Commons Debate. From a legal Canadian document, they talk about how Canadian politicians talked on how there should be more than a basic level of concern about a problem to take action, freedom of speech. "I would like to speak a little further on what the B.C. supreme court said. It made the point that in order to override charter rights—we are talking about freedom of expression, freedom of speech in the sense of an election campaign—it is necessary that there be more than a general hypothetical concern about a problem when there is no evidence to demonstrate that it has existed in the past or is likely to exist in the future." (House of Commons Debate PDF). Freedom of Speech isn't stated clearly and it's not a concern as long as there's no reason to take attention to it. Also, freedom of speech is technically implied which means they don't think they should need to take real attention to it unless there's a real problem that needs to be attended to.

Therefore, this claim is more misleading than anything. Canada doesn't clearly state that they allow freedom of speech but it's still technically allowed (with certain guidelines). 

Sources:

Article 19: https://www.article19.org/what-is-freedom-of-expression/

National Post: https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/despite-what-you-may-think-canadians-dont-actually-have-freedom-of-speech

House of Commons Debate: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2017/parl/X3-362-48-eng.pdf

Comments

I agree that the claim is misleading and I like how you included Canada's actual laws to back your statement. You used great and reliable sources and I also like the way you formatted your answer. You also used three sources to back your claim which makes it more reliable.

---

Thank you for providing factual information regarding the protection of freedom and speech in Canada. By talking about Article 19, individuals can learn about the ways in which it is a fundamental right. Your answer is clear and I have no notes as to any extra elaboration that would help strengthen your claim. Great job!

Answer 4

The statement that Canada does not allow freedom of speech is a broad, false statement. 

There are no news sources stating that Canada permits their citizens from accessing free speech. Even better, there are news sources that promote Canada ideals that are based on freedom of speech. According to https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/csj-sjc/rfc-dlc/ccrf-ccdl/, the Canadian Charter of RIghts and Freedoms that the country is based on promotes freedom of expression, speech, choice , religion etc. This means that the Citizens of Canada are subject to the same rights as Americans when it comes to freedom of speech. These rights do have limitations that protect hate speech and defamation. This is similar to the US constitution.