C-257 (45-1) - An Act to amend the Criminal Code (promotion of terrorist activity or group)
Chamber
commons
Stage
1st Reading
Introduced
Nov 17, 2025
Progress
This bill makes it a criminal offence to wilfully promote terrorist activities or terrorist groups through public statements.
Key Changes
- Creates a new Criminal Code offence (section 83.171) for wilfully promoting terrorist activity or a terrorist group through communication
- Sets a maximum prison sentence of five years for this new offence
- Clarifies that the offence applies even if statements did not specifically name a group or directly incite participation in terrorism
- Establishes four legal defences: truth, good-faith religious expression, public interest discussion, and intent to flag content for removal
- Adds the new offence to the list of terrorism offences subject to consecutive sentencing
- Adds the new offence to the list of offences that can be subject to electronic surveillance under section 183 of the Criminal Code
Gotchas
- The bill's defences closely mirror those found in the existing hate speech provision (section 319 of the Criminal Code), which may lead to similar legal debates about the boundaries of free expression
- The offence does not require proof that anyone was actually incited or encouraged to commit terrorism, which lowers the threshold for prosecution compared to existing facilitation offences
- The religious expression defence could be interpreted broadly or narrowly by courts, creating uncertainty about its scope
- Adding this offence to section 183 means police can use wiretapping and other electronic surveillance to investigate it, which is a significant investigative power
- The consecutive sentencing requirement means a conviction under this section must be served on top of any other sentence, potentially resulting in longer total prison terms
Who's Affected
- Individuals who publicly communicate statements that promote terrorism
- Religious communities, as religious expression is specifically addressed in the defences
- Journalists, researchers, and academics discussing terrorism-related topics in the public interest
- Social media users and online content creators
- Law enforcement and prosecutors who would investigate and charge this offence
Vibes
0 responses
Gotchas
- The bill's defences closely mirror those found in the existing hate speech provision (section 319 of the Criminal Code), which may lead to similar legal debates about the boundaries of free expression
- The offence does not require proof that anyone was actually incited or encouraged to commit terrorism, which lowers the threshold for prosecution compared to existing facilitation offences
- The religious expression defence could be interpreted broadly or narrowly by courts, creating uncertainty about its scope
- Adding this offence to section 183 means police can use wiretapping and other electronic surveillance to investigate it, which is a significant investigative power
- The consecutive sentencing requirement means a conviction under this section must be served on top of any other sentence, potentially resulting in longer total prison terms
Summary
Bill C-257 adds a new offence to the Criminal Code that makes it illegal to wilfully promote terrorist activity or a terrorist group through communication. A person found guilty could face up to five years in prison. The bill was introduced as a private member's bill by Mr. Baber in November 2025. The new offence applies even if the statements made did not specifically name a terrorist group or directly encourage anyone to participate in terrorism. This means broadly promoting terrorism — even without explicitly calling for action — could be enough to be charged. The bill also includes several defences to protect free speech. A person cannot be convicted if their statements were true, if they were expressing a religious opinion in good faith, if the statements were on a matter of genuine public interest and believed to be true, or if they were pointing out terrorist content for the purpose of having it removed.
Automatically generated from bill text using Claude
Vibes
0 responses