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Justifiable limits of free speech is something that any government should be looking into

Speaking on Tuesday after a cabinet meeting, Lametti declined to say whether he personally wants to see Section 13 revived, but pointed out the courts ultimately found it was constitutional, and said he’s taken note of suggestions on how the former law could be updated and improved.

“The justice committee has suggested (reviving it), a number of stakeholders have suggested it,” Lametti said. “What I will say is that I’ll take a look very carefully at what the committee had to say.”

Later, during question period, Maxime Bernier — the former Conservative leadership candidate who now leads the People’s Party of Canada — said the justice committee was proposing to “censor free speech on the Internet.”

“As (Bernier) well knows, free expression is something that we value in this country,” Lametti said in response. “He should also know … in the current context, with online platforms, that the limits of free speech, justifiable limits of free speech, is something that any government should be looking into — as the prime minister did when he was in Paris and looked at the Christchurch declaration.”

Lametti was referring to a meeting last month that had world leaders vow to take action against the spread of extremist content online. It was organized in response to a mass shooting at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, that killed 51 people.

I’ll take a look very carefully at what the committee had to say

The government has been considering for some time whether to bring back Section 13. The National Post reported in January 2018 that the justice department sent correspondence to a hate speech activist in B.C., telling him that reviving it was possible.