OTAWA – Holocaust denial will be outlawed in Canada in a further effort to eradicate growing anti-Semitism.
The federal government is going to make it a criminal offense to deny the Holocaust or to applaud or downplay the killing of Jews by the Nazi regime, in addition to a private conversation.
Ministers plan to use a budget bill to quickly change the Penal Code, budget documents show.
The move to outlaw Holocaust denial comes as lawmakers and anti-hate groups warn of rising white supremacy and anti-Semitism in Canada.
“Canadian Jews make up one percent of the Canadian population, yet they are the target of 62 percent of all religiously motivated hate crimes,” said Richard Marceau, vice president of the Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs.  “We live in an age of rising anti-Semitism.”
Canada will join a number of European countries, such as Germany, Greece, France, Belgium and the Czech Republic, which have already banned Holocaust denial.
Six million Jews were systematically killed in Nazi-occupied Europe while Hitler was in power, along with other groups, such as the Roma.
“Holocaust denial and distortion is a brutal attack on memory, truth and justice – an anti-Semitic slander to cover up the worst crime in history – and therefore a harsh and mocking rebuke to Holocaust survivors and their legacy. Said Irwin Cotler, the minister’s chief special envoy for the preservation of the Holocaust and the fight against anti-Semitism.
The budget provided $ 5.6 million over five years to support Cotler’s office.
Public Security Secretary Marco Mendicino said “there is no room for anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial in Canada.”
“That is why we have pledged to ban the deliberate promotion of anti-Semitism through the consent, denial or downplaying of the Holocaust,” Medicino added.  “The Holocaust was one of the darkest chapters in human history.  “We must preserve his memory, fight modern anti-Semitism and be firm when we say ‘never again.’
The government’s move to change the law follows the introduction by Saskatoon Tory MP Kevin Waugh of a private member’s bill banning Holocaust denial earlier this year.
Waugh said the government proposal was “word for word” the same as in his bill and he was surprised to see it in the budget.
But the Conservative MP said the government’s push for the law was a “victory for all”.
“There is no room for racism in this country,” he said.
Waugh said he would not withdraw his bill, which will be debated in a second reading in late April in the Commons, although a ban on Holocaust denial would be part of the budget bill.
He said he wanted to ensure that the change in the Penal Code would be implemented as soon as possible.
The budget does not say what the sentence will be for a person convicted of Holocaust denial.  Waugh’s bill proposes up to two years in prison.
The NDP said it would vote in favor of the budget, under the terms of the Trust and Bid deal with the Liberals, which would mean the bill would pass the Commons.
If the law is changed first through the budget bill, Waugh’s bill, which aims to ban Holocaust denial in statements, will become redundant.
The Ministry of Justice did not respond immediately for comment.
The budget allocated more than $ 70 million to initiatives for the benefit of Canada’s Jewish community.
That includes $ 20 million to relocate and expand the Montreal Holocaust Museum and $ 2.5 million to support the Sarah and Chaim Neuberger Holocaust Education Center in Toronto.
This Canadian Press report was first published on April 8, 2022.