Senators in Ottawa are beginning a detailed review of the federal government’s proposed anti-hate legislation, Bill C-9, as advocacy groups and witnesses push for broader protections and an expanded list of prohibited symbols.The bill currently targets the public display of symbols linked to government-designated terrorist entities, as well as the swastika.

However, several groups appearing before the Senate human rights committee have argued that the legislation does not go far enough in addressing rising hate-related incidents in Canada.A major focus of testimony has been the call to criminalize residential school denialism.

Terry Teegee, British Columbia regional chief for the Assembly of First Nations, told senators that denying the harms of the residential school system constitutes hate speech and causes ongoing harm to survivors and Indigenous communities.He stressed that such denialism re-traumatizes survivors, undermines reconciliation efforts, and disregards historical facts.

He also pointed to concerns about increasing anti-Indigenous racism and incidents of intimidation at former residential school sites, including the Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc site near Kamloops, where reports of threats and trespassing have been raised.Senators also heard debate over whether symbols such as the hammer and sickle should be included in the bill.

The Ukrainian Canadian Congress argued it should be banned due to its association with Soviet-era atrocities, while Black advocacy organizations called for symbols like the noose and those associated with the Ku Klux Klan to be added to the list.

Justice Minister Sean Fraser has indicated openness to reviewing the list of symbols, though he has expressed a desire to see the legislation passed before the summer parliamentary break.Some senators have raised concerns about unintended consequences.Senator Paula Simons cautioned that criminalizing denialism could provoke backlash and potentially deepen polarisation rather than reduce it.

Meanwhile, other parliamentarians, including NDP MP Leah Gazan, have previously supported making residential school denialism a criminal offence similar to Holocaust denial provisions in Canada’s Criminal Code.The debate continues as lawmakers weigh free expression concerns against efforts to combat hate speech.