Two men behind an east-end Toronto publication have been arrested for promoting hatred, including one charge that’s never been laid in Ontario.

James Nicholas Sears, 54, and Lawrence St. Germaine, 76, were each charged Wednesday with two counts of willful promotion of hatred against an identifiable group, namely Jews and women.

Sears is the editor-in-chief and St. Germaine is the publisher/owner of the controversial publication that critics claim targets women, Jews, Muslims and the LGBTQ community.

“We expect to easily beat these politically motivated charges,” Sears said in an email to the Star. “Part of our defence will be a constitutional challenge against the hate speech law, as it violates our right to free expression.”

Ontario Attorney General Yasir Naqvi said it is the first time in the province that hate crime charges have been laid alleging the willful promotion of hatred against women.

“In a multicultural and inclusive province like Ontario, the promotion of hatred stands in direct opposition to our fundamental values of equality and diversity,” Naqvi said in a statement. “Hate crimes are, by their very nature, serious offences because their impacts can be devastating, spreading from the individual, through the social fabric of our communities as a whole.”

Two legal experts contacted by the Star said they were unaware of any previous charge of willful promotion of hatred against women being laid anywhere in Canada.

The charges follow a hate-crimes investigation that’s been underway since earlier this year.

Related story:

Toronto police Hate Crimes Unit investigating banned ‘anti-Marxist’ newsletter

Editor, publisher of ‘highly offensive’ publication face criminal charge, couple says

In a news release, Toronto police said they’ve received complaints about the publication for the past two years.

Steve McDonald, spokesperson for the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, applauded Toronto police for taking action.

“We deeply value freedom of speech,” McDonald said. “It’s a core Canadian value. Unfortunately it’s cheapened by people who promote hatred under the guise of free speech, people who willfully attempt to demonize minorities, demonize women, promote content that’s sympathetic to Nazism.”

Bernie Farber, former CEO of the Canadian Jewish Congress and human rights advocate, said Wednesday’s charges were a “long time coming.”

“I had hoped that by the time my children were born, that anti-Semitism would be just a distant memory,” said Farber, the son of Holocaust survivors. “It brings back horrible, unpleasant memories — and it perpetuates, it gives permission, for those who already find reason to hate Jews, it gives them plenty of reason to do so. And that I am a central figure in that, I just found disgusting.”

The two men are scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 20.

In January, when the Toronto police Hate Crimes Unit investigated the publication, Sears said in an email to the Star that Your Ward News never violated any laws.

“There are no anti-gay slurs in our paper and the swastika is an ancient Aryan symbol that should be rehabilitated,” Sears said.

In June, a Toronto couple, Lisa and Warren Kinsella, went before a justice of the peace to have charges of uttering threats laid against Sears and St. Germaine.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

“If you look at this publication, and unfortunately some of us have had to do so, every single issue has been filled with Holocaust denial and anti-Semitism and violent expressions of hatred towards women and visible minorities and members of the LGBTQ community,” Warren Kinsella said. “Like every single page.”

Last year, the federal government ordered Canada Post to stop delivering Your Ward News after the then-minister of public services and procurement found it “highly offensive and well outside the norm of Canadian values.”

With files from Samantha Beattie, Annie Arnone and The Canadian Press.