OTTAWA — The Liberal government has introduced legislation to create four new hate-related criminal offences — including one criminalizing the use of Nazi and terrorist-related symbols.

Justice Minister Sean Fraser said Friday the bill would make it a criminal offence to wilfully promote hate through the use of hate symbols.

That designation would apply to two Nazi symbols — the swastika and the SS bolt — and symbols of designated terrorist entities. The maximum penalty would be two years in prison.

Fraser told reporters on Parliament Hill it’s not a “blanket ban” on particular symbols.

“When you’re dealing with a scenario where police may lay charges and the Crown may choose to prosecute, it is an extremely fact-dependent analysis that will depend heavily on the … specifics that happen in a given instance,” he said.

The bill would also create new crimes of obstruction and intimidation aimed at protecting places of worship and institutions — including schools, daycares and seniors’ residences — used by an identifiable group.

A press release noted the bill would not create “bubble zones” to prohibit protests around designated buildings. Such zones have to be ordered by provinces or municipalities.

Fraser said his bill would “ensure those who gather to practise their faith at religious institutions, schools, community centres and other buildings and structures that primarily serve identifiable communities will have the ability to do so freely and without fear that they will be targeted because of who they are.”

He also said the bill “goes to great lengths to specifically protect the ability of Canadians to take part in peaceful protests.”

In a background document, the government said that “intimidation” under the new legislation could include “threats, acts of violence, or other intimidating behaviour,” while “deliberately blocking doors, driveways, or roads” could count as obstruction.

The maximum penalty for both offences would be 10 years in prison, or just under two years for what the government calls “less serious offences.”

The bill would also create a new category of hate crime which would be layered on top of existing offences and would apply in cases where the crime was motivated by hate towards the victim, Fraser said. It would increase the maximum amount of jail time for those found guilty of the underlying offence.

Noah Shack, CEO of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, said in a media statement Friday that the bill “is an important signal of government action to confront serious threats facing Canada’s Jewish community.”

The Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center said in a press release it commends the government “for introducing new legislation today that will help make the country’s Jewish communities safer.”

But the group Independent Jewish Voices said it was “alarmed” by the bill, saying it “expands police powers and weakens safeguards against the criminalization of political speech.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2025.