R. v. Krymowski
Encyclopedia
Supreme Court of Canada
Decided February 24, 2005
| Full case name: | Her Majesty The Queen v. Krystopher Krymowski, Ryan Douglas Marshall, Quinn Mason McFarlane, Michael Peter Schultz, J.J.V. and A.M.V |
| Citations: | [2005] 1 S.C.R. 101; 2005 SCC 7 (CanLII); (2005), 249 D.L.R. (4th) 28; (2005), 193 C.C.C. (3d) 129; (2005), 26 C.R. (6th) 207; (2005), 195 O.A.C. 341 |
| Prior history: | Judgement for the defendants in the Court of Appeal for Ontario |
| Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin Beverley McLachlin Beverley McLachlin, PC is the Chief Justice of Canada, the first woman to hold this position. She also serves as a Deputy of the Governor General of Canada.-Early life:... |
| Puisne Justices John C. Major John C. Major John Charles "Jack" Major, CC, QC is a Canadian jurist and was a puisne justice on the Supreme Court of Canada from 1992 to 2005.... , Michel Bastarache Michel Bastarache J. E. Michel Bastarache is a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and retired puisne justice on the Supreme Court of Canada.... , Ian Binnie Ian Binnie William Ian Corneil Binnie was a puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, serving from 1998 to 2011. Of the justices appointed to the Supreme Court in recent years, he is one of the few to have never sat as a judge prior to his appointment.- Personal life and career as lawyer :Binnie was... , Louis LeBel Louis LeBel Louis LeBel is a puisne justice on the Supreme Court of Canada.LeBel was born in Quebec City. He was the son of lawyer Paul LeBel, Q.C. He went to school at the Collège des Jésuites, graduating with a BA in 1958 from College des Jesuites. He earned his law degree at Université Laval in 1962 and... , Marie Deschamps Marie Deschamps Marie Deschamps is a puisne justice on the Supreme Court of Canada.-Education:She studied law at the Université de Montréal, graduating in 1974 and completing a Masters in 1983 at McGill.-Career:... , Morris Fish Morris Fish Morris J. Fish, is a judge of the Supreme Court of Canada.Born in Montreal, Quebec, the son of Aaron S. Fish and Zlata Grober, he received a Bachelor of Arts in 1959 and a Bachelor of Law in 1962 from McGill University.He practiced law mostly in Quebec for the law firm Cohen, Leithman, Kaufman,... , Rosalie Abella Rosalie Abella Rosalie Silberman Abella, is a Canadian jurist. She was appointed in 2004 to the Supreme Court of Canada, becoming the first Jewish woman to sit on the Canadian Supreme Court bench.- Early life :... and Louise Charron Louise Charron Louise Charron is a Canadian jurist. She was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada in October, 2004, and is the first native-born Franco-Ontarian Supreme Court judge... |
| Majority decision by: Charron |
| Joined by: McLachlin, Major, Bastarache, Binnie, LeBel, Deschamps, Fish, Abella |
| Minority opinion by: None |
| Joined by: none |
R. v. Krymowski [2005] 1 S.C.R. 101 was a decision by the Supreme Court of Canada
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeals in the Canadian justice system. The court grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants each year to appeal decisions rendered by provincial, territorial and federal appellate courts, and its decisions...
on hate speech
Hate speech
Hate speech is, outside the law, any communication that disparages a person or a group on the basis of some characteristic such as race, color, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, religion, or other characteristic....
against the Roma people, also known as "Gypsies."
Background
When Roma refugeeRefugee
A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...
s were allowed into Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
in 1997, a protest was staged by 25 neo-Nazis and other people in front of the motel where the refugees were staying. The protesters held signs that said, for examples, "Honk if you hate Gypsies," "Canada is not a Trash Can," and "G.S.T. — Gypsies Suck Tax." (The last is a reference to Canada's Goods and Services Tax
Goods and Services Tax (Canada)
The Goods and Services Tax is a multi-level value added tax introduced in Canada on January 1, 1991, by then Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and his finance minister Michael Wilson. The GST replaced a hidden 13.5% Manufacturers' Sales Tax ; Mulroney claimed the GST was implemented because the MST...
, also known as GST.)
The protesters were charged with promoting hatred, a crime under the Criminal Code of Canada
Criminal Code of Canada
The Criminal Code or Code criminel is a law that codifies most criminal offences and procedures in Canada. Its official long title is "An Act respecting the criminal law"...
. However, the defence replied that the hate speech did not target the Roma, but only "Gypsies," who may or may not be Roma. This was in spite of a letter by the defence lawyer, which was attached to an article that used the words "Roma" and "Gypsies" to refer to the same people. The Crown also pointed to dictionary
Dictionary
A dictionary is a collection of words in one or more specific languages, often listed alphabetically, with usage information, definitions, etymologies, phonetics, pronunciations, and other information; or a book of words in one language with their equivalents in another, also known as a lexicon...
definitions. The defence won their case at trial, and the Court of Appeal for Ontario upheld this finding.
Decision
The court overturned the dismissal and held that "The appeal should be allowed. The acquittals are set aside and new trials ordered."The decision of the Court was written by Justice Louise Charron
Louise Charron
Louise Charron is a Canadian jurist. She was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada in October, 2004, and is the first native-born Franco-Ontarian Supreme Court judge...
. She first observed the hate speech law was discussed and held to be constitutional in the case R. v. Keegstra
R. v. Keegstra
R. v. Keegstra, [1990] 3 S.C.R. 697 is a landmark freedom of expression decision of the Supreme Court of Canada where the Court upheld the Criminal Code of Canada provision prohibiting the wilful promotion of hatred against an identifiable group as constitutional under the freedom of expression...
(1990). In Keegstra it was found that the definition of the crime was specific enough to be enforceable and its infringement on freedom of expression was minimal. In this case, this meant the Crown was obligated to show the protesters publicly promoted hatred against a racial or religious group. It was not disputed the Roma would be such a group. Moreover, the protesters targeted a specific group.
Charron faulted the trial finding as too focussed on the terms "Roma" and "Gypsies," and not on the general question of whether the protesters were attempting to promote hatred of the Roma. Charron emphasized the importance of studying the "totality of the evidence" and drawing reasonable conclusions to determine whether a group was subject to hate speech. It was suggested that evidence besides the use of the word "Gypsies" be considered. This included that the Roma were staying at a motel that was targeted, that neo-Nazi displays were used, and that the protesters advocated "White Power." Neo-Nazism was particularly important since the Nazi Germans
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
persecuted the Roma in the Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
.
Finally, Charron noted that use of the words "Roma" and "Gypsies" as synonyms need not have been fully proven if it were reasonable enough to believe and not be disputed. The dictionaries used in the case made the use of the synonyms believable and understandable.