OTTAWA — After a week of delays and uncertainty, the Liberals say a deal is back on the rails with the Bloc Québécois to remove religious exemptions from Canada’s hate-speech laws in exchange for support to help pass the government’s bill targeting hate and terror symbols.

A senior government source confirmed to National Post that the Liberals on the House of Commons justice committee, which is currently doing a clause-by-clause study of Bill C-9, are expected to support a Bloc amendment to the legislation that will remove the controversial exemption during a Tuesday afternoon meeting.

“Anything can happen at committee, but… we’ll be voting for it,” said the source about the Bloc amendment. They were granted anonymity to discuss inter-party negotiations freely.

Last week, National Post reported that the Bloc and Liberals had struck a deal that would see the government approve an amendment to Bill C-9 that removes the religious exemption for willful promotion of hate from the Criminal Code. In exchange, the Bloc committed to supporting the bill through the House of Commons.

A deal with the Bloc is likely the only way the Liberals can get the bill through committee, as the Conservatives have vowed to oppose it.

But after the report, the deal appeared suddenly to be on shaky ground as both meetings of the Justice committee last week where the amendment was expected to be debated were either cancelled or suspended by the Liberals.

Liberal committee chair

James Maloney said at the time

he cancelled the meeting to allow MPs to “regroup and find a path forward” as “emotions were running high.” At the same time, the government faced a groundswell of opposition to the amendment by various Muslim, Christian and civil rights groups.

After the second planned committee meeting last week was cancelled at the last minute, the Bloc Québécois accused the Liberals of reneging on a deal they said originally came from Justice Minister Sean Fraser himself.

More to come…

National Post

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OTTAWA

— Federal Justice Minister Sean Fraser tabled a new crime bill on Tuesday, seeking to stiffen punishments for offences committed against children and women, while also proposing to restore mandatory minimum sentences for a slew of offences. 

The 167-page bill includes proposals to criminalize a pattern of behaviour seen in abusive relationships known as “coercive control,” and also declare that when a woman is murdered in the context of a controlling intimate partner relationship, which could include sexual violence and hate, that homicide be regarded as first-degree murder.

The change also includes referring to these murders as “femicide,” which was a promise that Prime Minister Mark Carney made during the spring election campaign.

The bill also fulfills his campaign commitment to include as part of the offence against the non-consensual distribution of intimate images, those which are “a visual representation” of someone that could be mistaken as real, which refers to the practice of using generative AI to make what are commonly known as sexualized “deepfakes.”

The legislation also seeks to respond to a recent Supreme Court ruling that struck down the one-year mandatory minimum sentences for the access and possession of child-sex abuse images, known as child pornography.

The Opposition Conservatives and other critics decried the top court’s decision at the time, calling on Fraser to use the notwithstanding clause in the Charter to allow the Liberal government to uphold the minimum sentencing requirement.

Tuesday’s bill responds by trying to safeguard remaining mandatory minimum sentences and include a change that states courts may allow an offender to serve less time, “but only if the mandatory minimum term of imprisonment would amount to cruel and unusual punishment,” for that specific offence.

The legislation also proposes to try addressing the issue of court cases being tossed due to an accused’s right to a trial not being met within a reasonable timeframe by directing that courts consider other options rather than granting a stay of proceedings.

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association released a statement on Tuesday, saying the bill attempts to overturn “

nearly 40 years of Supreme Court precedent” and removes the “strongest constraint requiring the justice system to run on time.”

“The federal government’s proposal to gut the (Charter right)
to be tried in a reasonable time is unconstitutional and punts the hard work of resolving delay,” Shakir Rahim, who directs the association’s criminal justice program, said in a statement. 

National Post

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A Nunavut judge knocked nearly two years off the sentence for an Inuit man convicted of trying to choke a woman to death because she stood up for his abused sister-in-law, citing his Indigenous status, mental illness and the fact that a shorter sentence would not require him to leave Canada’s northernmost territory to serve the remainder of his time behind bars.

Laimiki Toonoo was sentenced in the Nunavut Court of Justice to eight years and two months in prison for the attempted murder of Ovilu Saila.

“Given that this case involved a conviction after trial, the Crown submission of 10-12 years was reasonable and appropriate. Indeed, I would have imposed a sentence of 10 years if it was not for the mitigating factors of Laimiki’s major mental illness, his significant Gladue factors, and the fact that a territorial term going forward was within the range of sentence given his lengthy pre-trial custody, and that that form of sentence made a lengthy probation order available,” Justice Christian Lyons wrote in a recent decision out of Iqaluit.

Gladue principles were set out in a Supreme Court of Canada decision over a quarter century back and indicate sentencing judges must consider the unique circumstances of Indigenous offenders, as well as systemic issues like the impact of residential schools, to address the over-representation of Indigenous people in Canada’s prisons.

“Laimiki’s assault on Ovilu was unprovoked, and senseless. In a cowardly display, Laimiki and his brother, Archie, two grown men under the influence of alcohol, attacked a sober Ovilu because she stood up for Archie’s spouse after Archie became abusive towards her,” Lyons said.

“The attack was lengthy and persistent and took place in the presence of Archie’s spouse and their four young children.”

The court heard that Laimiki “choked Ovilu for many minutes and managed to do so despite a spirited effort from Ovilu to defend herself,” said the decision, dated Dec. 3.

“Ovilu eventually became unconscious due to the choking and Laimiki continued choking her with the intent to kill her. While he did this, Archie told Laimiki to stop, but Laimiki said he would not, because Ovilu was not dead yet, and was still breathing.”

Laimiki then told his brother they “could hang Ovilu, and Archie again told him to stop. There was further discussion between Archie and Laimiki about hanging Ovilu, and Laimiki said they could hang Ovilu and pretend that she hung herself,” said the decision.

“Laimiki then tied a phone charger cord tightly around Ovilu’s neck and then tied a scarf to the cord. The purpose of this was to attach something long enough to her neck so she could be hung from a heavy bolt embedded in a wooden beam above her head. He then applied sufficient force to the cord to snap it. Whether or not she was actually hung is unknown.”

Ovilu “regained consciousness sometime after the cord snapped and Laimiki continued to attempt to assault her as Archie was on the phone with the police reporting that a woman was hanging,” said the decision.

“Laimiki then fled, and Ovilu was able to escape the home, and went immediately to the RCMP detachment with the cord still tied tightly to her neck.”

The 2021 attack in Kinngait, a Dorset Island hamlet, left Ovilu with “significant swelling and bruising to her face, a cord indentation around her neck, and redness and scratches to her neck area,” said the decision. “It also had a deep emotional impact on her.”

Laimiki Toonoo has a criminal record with 14 convictions spanning from 2017-2021, said the decision, which notes three are for violent offences.

“This is a significant criminal record for a man who was only 23 years old when he went into custody for the attack on Ovilu, and it spans his entire adult life up until that point,” Lyons said. “I further note that in 2023, a year and a half after being incarcerated, he was released on bail, only to be arrested 12 days later on new, unrelated charges, and remanded back into custody.”

Laimiki Toonoo “has experienced significant trauma and loss, and has had a difficult life,” said the judge.

“He has a long-standing diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder, which is the result of what was described in the records, as a ‘chaotic childhood,’” said the judge.

“His father died when he was eight years old, and it is clear that this has had a significant impact on Laimiki.”

After his father died, Laimiki told the court he was on his own. He “called himself an ‘abandoned kid,’ staying variously with his mother and at friend’s homes,” said the decision.

One of his brothers died by suicide and another drowned, said the decision.

“Laimiki is an Indigenous man, and these life experiences are significant Gladue factors that are mitigating on sentence,” said the judge.

Laimiki Toonoo sometimes experiences “auditory hallucinations” that “urge him to harm others,” said the decision. “A month after his attempted murder of Ovilu, Laimiki broke his hand punching another inmate, and it was said that he did so in response to an auditory command hallucination.”

Since attacking another inmate in 2021, “Laimiki has been stabilized in custody, as he has been medicated and kept free from alcohol and illicit drug use,” said the decision.

Laimiki has been in custody since the attempted murder, “save for the 12 days he was released on bail in 2023, and therefore has credit for more than four years in jail,” Lyons said.

His defence lawyer asked for a six-year sentence, which would have worked out to time served when the enhanced credit for pre-sentence custody was taken into account.

The Crown argued that “given the aggravating factors, and Laimiki’s high risk of reoffending, that a penitentiary term going forward is necessary. They argue that such a sentence would more effectively protect the public from Laimiki as he would be separated from society for a longer period, and more likely to be rehabilitated.”

But the remainder of his sentence is two years less a day, which allows him to serve it in Nunavut.

“The imposition of a territorial sentence allows me to put Mr. Toonoo on a lengthy probation order following his release, that requires him to meet with mental health workers, and psychiatrists, and to not drink alcohol or consume illicit drugs,” Lyons said. “This would not be an available option to me if I were to impose a further federal sentence of two years or more.”

He’s getting “effective treatment for his mental illness and has a level of comfort there,” the judge said of the Iqaluit jail.

“He reported feeling more alive in custody, and that he has learned to respect others. He is surrounded by other Inuit, and is much closer to home, and has access to programs.”

Toonoo’s brother, Archie, was sentenced to two years of probation last month for his role in the attack.

• Indigenous man caught with ‘killing machine’ of a rifle gets time served due to intergenerational trauma
• Calgary man who sexually assaulted a 12-year-old girl gets reduced sentence because he’s Indigenous

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A former masseur in Victoria who was found guilty of sexually assaulting several women during therapeutic massages has convinced the Court of Appeal for British Columbia to order funding for his “complex” appeal against his conviction and two-year jail sentence, which is long enough to force his deportation to India at the end.

Ajesh Jacob, who was in his mid-30s at the time of the crimes, is currently in jail and does not have a lawyer.

In a recent ruling

, B.C.’s top court said there is no “obvious error” in the trial judge’s sentencing decision. But Jacob’s appeal is not obviously doomed, and he has shown he cannot afford a lawyer, so it is “in the interests of justice to appoint counsel on his behalf.”

It will be a complicated file, involving alleged Charter violations of unreasonable delay, judicial errors about appointing court interpreters, and the controversial issue of whether the women complainants were influenced in their testimony by reading each other’s stories on Instagram before the trial.

Jacob was initially charged with 11 counts of sexual assault between May 2019 and March 2021. Two were stayed by the Crown before a trial, in which a judge found him not guilty on four of them, and guilty of five.

Jacob, who immigrated to Canada in 2018, will be deported to India after serving his sentence if it is ultimately for six months or more. His trial judge decided this immigration consequence was not a mitigating factor that would justify a lesser jail term than the two years she imposed. Even his trial lawyer accepted that a sentence of less than six months would not be within the “appropriate range” for five sexual assault convictions, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Catherine Murray wrote.

The major issue at trial was the credibility and reliability of the complainants, specifically “tainting or unconscious contamination of evidence.” Jacob’s defence lawyer argued some of the women “recreated” their stories after hearing details of other complaints.

All of the complainants but one came forward, sometimes many months after the fact, after seeing a news article or posts on an Instagram account called Survivor Stories, whose administrator urged some to contact police or connected them to a lawyer pursuing a separate civil case against Jacob and the massage business.

At trial last year, Judge Murray found one complainant was a “textbook example of tainting or unconscious contamination … (she) took information she learned from others and made it her own — consciously or unconsciously.”

Another issue was identity, and whether Jacob was in fact the man known to the complainants in the massage clinic and by his name tag as “Sam,” and whether these complaints might actually be about a different employee of Korean ancestry.

Another issue was the long delay, some of which was due to Jacob’s request for an interpreter in the rare language of Malayalam and arguments over the competence of the interpreters chosen.

The issue of whether Jacob actually needed an interpreter was not argued before the trial judge, and his challenge of the interpreters’ competence failed in a pretrial ruling. Jacob grew up in southern Kerala province of India, where he was taught in English. He has a master’s degree in English language and literature, and completed a two year diploma in human resource management in Victoria, in English.

At trial, Judge Murray found much of Jacob’s evidence was contradictory, senseless and inconsistent. She found he touched these women sexually without their consent and intentionally manipulated one woman’s hand to briefly touch his penis.

She accepted his relative youth, lack of a criminal record, obedience to bail conditions, and strong support from upstanding community members as mitigating factors in his sentence.

There were also plenty of aggravating factors, not just the large number of offences. He was in a position of trust, providing a therapeutic service to women in a vulnerable situation. He stood at reception as they paid, causing fear and preventing any disclosure to the other staff. His assaults were planned and deliberate, not just opportunistic.

And Jacob’s “moral culpability is high,” she decided. There were no factors of “diminished blameworthiness” or “compelling mitigation” that would justify letting him serve his sentence in the community rather than in jail. The jail sentence of two years less a day, followed by three years probation, places him “under supervision for the maximum allowable time,” the judge ruled.

It means he will serve the time in a provincial jail, rather than a federal prison. Federal prisons take offenders sentenced to more than two years. It will also mean that he will be deported to India at the end of his sentence.

“In my view, this sentence sends a strong message to Mr. Jacob and other like-minded individuals that sexual assault will not be condoned,” the trial judge wrote.

• Somali woman in polygamous marriage who lied to get into Canada wins another chance to stay
• Immigrant ordered deported for role in McMaster student’s death wins chance to stay in Canada

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OTTAWA — After a week of controversy, Justice Minister Sean Fraser broke his silence Monday about his government’s floundering deal with the Bloc Québécois to remove the religious exemption for certain hate speech in exchange for passing bill C-9.
 

On Monday afternoon, the Bloc Québécois fired a barrage at the minister during question period, accusing Fraser of reneging on the deal he had brought to the Bloc in order to pass the bill targeting hate and terror symbols.
 

In response, Fraser did not deny he had made a deal with the Bloc as he argued that the minority Liberals would need to work with other parties to get the contentions legislation through.
 

But he was mum on the state of that deal, which the Bloc said is on its deathbed after the Liberals twice cancelled or suspended the Commons justice committee meetings last week where amendments to C-9 are being debated.
 

One such amendment, proposed by the Bloc, is to remove an exemption in the Criminal Code to the charge of willful promotion of hateful or antisemitic speech if it is based in good faith on the interpretation of a religious text.
 

“My priority is to see this bill adopted,” Fraser said during question period. “That’s going to require that we collaborate with different parties who have different points of view.

“I thank my colleague for the conversations that we’ve been able to share,” he added in response to a Bloc question. “I look forward to seeing the decision that’s going to be taken not by an individual minister, but by the justice committee as they consider potential amendments going forward.”
 

They were his first public comments on C-9 since
National Post revealed last Monday
that the Liberals had struck a deal with the Bloc to support the legislation in exchange for removing the religious exemption.
 

Bill C-9 would create a new offence for intimidating someone to the point of blocking their access to a place of worship or another centre used by an identifiable group, as well as criminalizing the act of promoting hate by displaying a hate or terror symbol, such as one tied to a listed terrorist organization or a swastika.

News of the Liberals agreeing to remove the religious exemption for certain hate speech — a longtime Bloc ask — has earned the Liberals both fierce criticism and praise from various groups.
 

Muslim, Christian and civil liberties groups as well as the Conservatives have lambasted the proposed amendment, tagging it as an attack on both freedom of speech and religion. They have argued that it risks criminalizing individuals speaking about their faith.
 

But eliminating the religious exemption is supported by Jewish and LGBTQ groups, the Bloc as well as the Quebec government, who have called for its removal repeatedly since 2023. They all say religion should not be used as a cover for antisemitic or hateful speech.
 

On Monday, the Bloc accused the Liberals of breaking their promise after saying last week that it was Fraser who approached them proposing to remove the religious exemption in exchange for the party’s support in getting C-9 through the House of Commons.
 

They also suggested the Liberals would cancel the justice committee meetings this week where amendments to C-9 are being debated, including eventually the Bloc’s to remove the religious exemption.
 

“The Liberals are abandoning their deal with the Bloc and are abandoning Quebecers. They are pulling the plug on C-9,” charged Bloc justice critic Rhéal Fortin. “How are they going to justify this about-face after so many broken promises?”
 

On Monday, CBC News cited anonymous sources saying the progress of the bill was stalled because Fraser’s office had failed to inform the Prime Minister’s Office before brokering the deal with the Bloc. The report said the bill is stalled because the PMO has not authorized any amendments.
 

In a statement, Fraser’s office said the minister has been working in “lockstep” with the prime minister on the bill. Spokesperson Jeremy Bellefeuille also suggested Tuesday’s justice committee meeting would go forward.
 

“Our offices work together as they should, and internal discussions are entirely normal in a minority Parliament as we work with all parties, including the Bloc,” Bellefeuille said, accusing the Conservatives of stonewalling the committee with opposition to a different bill.
 

“We’re ready to keep working in good faith at tomorrow’s committee meeting.”
 

National Post

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Sophie Grégoire Trudeau stunned judges and an unsuspecting audience after she revealed herself to be the voice behind one of the characters on the Canadian French-language singing show, the Masked Singer.

Grégoire Trudeau appeared on a Christmas special of the show, called Chanteurs Masqués in French, which she said in a post on Instagram was recorded over the summer. The show’s premise is for panelists and the audience to learn the identity of the celebrity singers, who compete to stay on the show until they are the last one left.

Panelists on the Christmas special were unable to uncover the real identity of the person behind elaborate Christmas Fairy costume. Turns out, it was the ex-wife of Canada’s former prime minister Justin Trudeau.

“It was so fun to play and sing as the Xmas fairy for Chanteurs Masqués (Masked singers),” she said in an Instagram post on Monday. “Judges and public were so surprised! Thanks for the invite!”

Grégoire Trudeau sang two songs, I Put a Spell On You, which is a cult classic by Jay Hawkins, and a rendition of Faufile by Canadian singer Charlotte Cardin.

In

a video clip that the show posted on Instagram

, Grégoire Trudeau beamed about the experience, speaking in French. She asked whether or not people at home were able to guess who she was.

Grégoire Trudeau previously performed publicly in 2016 at a Martin Luther King Day event. She sang an original song that she said she wrote for her daughter, Ella-Grace Trudeau.

Grégoire Trudeau is not the only person in her family with a love for music. In the comments of her Instagram post, her oldest son Xavier Trudeau, wrote, “Sign her,” insinuating that she should be signed by a record label. The 18-year-old

released R&B songs earlier this year

.

And Grégoire Trudeau’s ex-husband Justin also has connections to the music industry through his current partner, pop star Katy Perry.

The pair recently went Instagram official. They appeared together in a series of videos and photos Perry posted over the weekend.

• Justin Trudeau and Katy Perry have lunch with ex-Japanese PM and his wife: ‘Katy and I were so glad’
• https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/sophie-gregoire-trudeau-coping-with-justins-public-romance

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