Bill C-257, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (promotion of terrorist activity or group), proposes to amend the federal Criminal Code. It would create an indictable offence (a criminal offence prosecuted in the more serious category) for wilfully promoting terrorist activity or a terrorist group through statements; its stated goal is to make that conduct a crime. The supplied material does not say whether the bill has passed or when it would start, so these are proposed changes, not confirmed law in force.
A person who commits the proposed offence could be imprisoned for up to five years.
The offence could apply even if the statements do not specifically or generally relate to terrorist activity or a terrorist group, and even if they do not actually encourage or instigate anyone to take part. The person must still wilfully promote the activity or group.
The bill sets out four defences: the person establishes the statements were true; they expressed or tried in good faith to establish a religious opinion; the statements concerned a public-interest subject discussed for public benefit and they reasonably believed the statements were true; or they intended in good faith to identify material for removal.
It would add the new offence to Criminal Code provisions about “terrorism offences,” consecutive sentences (sentences served one after another), and the definition of “offence” in section 183.
People making statements: If enacted, wilfully promoting terrorist activity, a terrorist group, or a group’s activity could lead to criminal prosecution and up to five years in prison, subject to the listed defences.
People accused of the offence: The bill does not require proof that their statements actually encouraged anyone to act. It also does not require the statements to specifically or generally relate to terrorism.
The public: The bill creates a criminal offence; it does not set out a separate speech-review or removal process. The proposed offence uses “wilfully promotes” without defining that phrase in the supplied text.
Sentencing and other legal processes: The bill adds the offence to several existing Criminal Code provisions. The supplied material does not include enough of the current Code to verify all practical effects of those changes.
The bill text does not state its status or a start date.
“Wilfully promotes” is not defined in the supplied text. The scope of the offence would depend in part on how that phrase is interpreted.
The bill adopts the meanings of “communicating” and “statements” from another Criminal Code provision, but that provision was not supplied.
The parent Act was not supplied, so the bill’s changes to the existing sentencing rule and section 183 definition cannot be fully checked against current law.
The bill appears intended to address wilful promotion of terrorist activity or groups, including promotion that does not lead to anyone taking part.
A possible argument for the bill is that criminal liability need not depend on proving that a particular statement actually persuaded or encouraged someone to act.
The stated defences provide exceptions for truth, certain religious opinions, qualifying public-interest discussion, and good-faith efforts to identify material for removal.
One concern is that the bill says the offence may be committed even when statements do not specifically or generally relate to terrorism and do not encourage anyone to act. That could leave the offence’s reach uncertain.
The bill does not define “wilfully promotes,” making it hard to know from this text alone which statements could lead to prosecution.
The maximum penalty is five years’ imprisonment, and the bill adds the offence to a consecutive-sentence rule. The supplied extract does not show the full effect of that rule.