Rising hate speech in Canada has led to significant attention and concern among politicians, policymakers, and commentators. Legal responses to this phenomenon have focused almost entirely on public law, with recent years marked by determined efforts by Parliament to expand the criminal law’s role through the creation of new hate-speech offences. However, criminal prosecutions for hate speech have proven poorly suited to advancing the criminal law’s objectives, including deterrence, denunciation, and the protection of vulnerable com-munities. Human rights proceedings have likewise proven limited in their capacity to provide meaningful redress for victims of hate speech. By contrast, private law has played a limited role in responding to harmful expression … (more)
Kenneth Grad, ‘Beyond Public Law: Recognizing a Tort Remedy for Hate Speech in Canada’, Forum 34(4) 43-64 (30 March 2026).
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