Toronto (February 10, 2022) – Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) welcomes a new private member's bill introduced by Conservative MP Kevin Waugh yesterday to amend the Criminal Code to prohibit public denial and distortion of the Holocaust.

Bill C-250, seconded by Conservative MP Melissa Lantsman, calls for Section 319 of the Criminal Code to be amended to “prohibit the communication of statements, other than in private conversation, that wilfully promote antisemitism by condoning, denying or downplaying the Holocaust.”

FSWC has long been calling for the Canadian government to modify its hate speech laws by including Holocaust denial and distortion, which has risen dramatically across the country, as a criminal offence.

FSWC calls on all members of Parliament to give multipartisan support for this bill, which comes at a critically important time in our country.

This bill comes a week after NDP House Leader Peter Julian tabled a bill to ban hate symbols, including swastikas and other Nazi symbols, in Canada, which FSWC is also supporting.