Holocaust denial is to be outlawed in Canada, in a further effort to stamp out rising antisemitism. The federal government is set to make it a criminal offence to make a statement denying the Holocaust took place or condoning or downplaying the killing of Jews by the Nazi regime, except in a private conversation. Ministers plan to use a bill enacting the budget to swiftly change the Criminal Code, budget documents show. The move to outlaw Holocaust denial comes as MPs and anti-hate groups warn about the rise of white-supremacism and antisemitism in Canada. “Jewish Canadians comprise one per cent of the Canadian population yet are the target of 62 per cent of all religiously motivated hate crimes,” said Richard Marceau, vice-president of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs. “We live in a time of rising antisemitism.” Canada will join a string of European countries, including Germany, Greece, France, Belgium and the Czech Republic, which have already prohibited Holocaust denial. Six million Jews were systematically killed in Nazi-occupied Europe while Hitler was in power, along with other groups, such as Roma. “Holocaust denial and distortion constitute a cruel assault on memory, truth, and justice – an antisemitic libel to cover up the worst crime in history – and thereby a cruel and mocking rebuke to Holocaust survivors and their legacy,” said Irwin Cotler, the prime minister’s special envoy on preserving Holocaust remembrance and combating antisemitism. The budget earmarked $5.6 million over five years to support Cotler’s office. Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said “there is no place for antisemitism and Holocaust denial in Canada.”
via cp24: Holocaust denial, downplaying the Nazis’ murder of Jews to be outlawed in Canada