Monday, February 9, 2026
ADVT 
National

Justice Minister Arif Virani says controversial online harms bill to be split in two

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 04 Dec, 2024 11:06 AM
  • Justice Minister Arif Virani says controversial online harms bill to be split in two

Justice Minister Arif Virani says the Liberal government will split up its contentious online harms bill, putting a priority on passing measures to fight child sex predators.

Virani says the move will create an opening for a swath of the bill's measures to swiftly pass through the House of Commons before the next election.

The House has been gridlocked for months over a parliamentary privilege debate raging between the Liberals and Conservatives that has prevented most legislation from moving forward.

Virani says the online harms bill will be cleaved into two new packages: one dealing with keeping children safe online, combating sex predators and issues related to revenge pornography.

The second package of measures will deal with Criminal Code and Human Rights Act amendments targeting hate.

Critics have long called on the government to split up the bill to have the most controversial matters debated separately.

MORE National ARTICLES

Chrystia Freeland says carbon rebate for small businesses will be tax-free

Chrystia Freeland says carbon rebate for small businesses will be tax-free
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says the Canada carbon rebate for small businesses will be tax-free. In a statement posted to X late Tuesday, Freeland clarified the parameters of the program after an advocacy group for small business raised concerns that the rebate would be a taxable benefit.

Chrystia Freeland says carbon rebate for small businesses will be tax-free

Swearing-in ceremonies at B.C. legislature mark start of new political season

Swearing-in ceremonies at B.C. legislature mark start of new political season
The two Greens — lawyer Rob Botterell, representing Saanich North and the Islands, and geological engineer Jeremy Valeriote, of West Vancouver-Sea to Sky, who were elected on Oct. 19 in a tight election race — could play pivotal roles in the legislature, where Premier David Eby's New Democrats hold a slim one-seat majority.

Swearing-in ceremonies at B.C. legislature mark start of new political season

Trump's appointees have criticized Trudeau, warned of border issues with Canada

Trump's appointees have criticized Trudeau, warned of border issues with Canada
Donald Trump's second administration is filling up with some of his most loyal supporters and many of the people landing top jobs have been critical of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and security at Canada's border. One expert says there are not many Canadian allies, so far, in the president-elect's court.

Trump's appointees have criticized Trudeau, warned of border issues with Canada

RCMP say three men arrested in B.C. have ties to Mexican drug cartels

RCMP say three men arrested in B.C. have ties to Mexican drug cartels
RCMP federal investigators have arrested three men in British Columbia they believe are connected to a transnational organized crime group connected to Mexican drug cartels bringing cocaine into Canada. They say officers also seized 23 firearms, several thousand rounds of ammunition and "multi-kilos of illicit drugs" from a home in Surrey, B.C.

RCMP say three men arrested in B.C. have ties to Mexican drug cartels

3 charged in a drug operation in Richmond

3 charged in a drug operation in Richmond
Police in Metro Vancouver say three people have been charged after a multi-year investigation into an alleged drug trafficking operation in Richmond. R-C-M-P say the probe began in November 2021, and searches at multiple properties in that city, as well as Vancouver, turned up some 15-hundred tablets of alleged M-D-M-A as well as 3.6 kilograms of methamphetamine.

3 charged in a drug operation in Richmond

Report details anti-Black racism in the public service, calls for commissioner

Report details anti-Black racism in the public service, calls for commissioner
A government-funded report says Black executives within the public service are subjected to harassment and intimidation, career stagnation, unjust workloads and, as one executive wrote, a "cesspool of racism." Lawyer Rachel Zellars, who authored the report for the Black Executives Network, wrote that the interviews she conducted with 73 participants were the "most distressing" she has witnessed and recorded. Of the 73 people she interviewed, 63 are current employees.

Report details anti-Black racism in the public service, calls for commissioner