Justice Minister defends house arrest power for people feared to commit a hate crime in future
MARIE WOOLF
OTTAWA
PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 28, 2024
Justice Minister Arif Virani [An Ismaili Muslim born in Uganda, right] has defended a new power in the online harms bill to impose house arrest on someone who is feared to commit a hate crime in the future — even if they have not yet done so already.
The person could be made to wear an electronic tag, if the attorney-general requests it, or ordered by a judge to remain at home, the bill says.
Mr. Virani, who is Attorney-General as well as Justice Minister, said it is important that any peace bond be “calibrated carefully,” saying it would have to meet a high threshold to apply.
But he said the new power, which would require the attorney-general’s approval as well as a judge’s, could prove “very, very important” to restrain the behaviour of someone with a track record of hateful behaviour who may be targeting certain people or groups.
If “there’s a genuine fear of an escalation, then an individual or group could come forward and seek a peace bond against them and to prevent them from doing certain things.”