Canadian Jewish groups are questioning why B.C. prosecutors have taken more than a year to decide whether a woman who made explosive comments at a Vancouver rally last year should face hate crime charges.
Vancouver police arrested Charlotte Kates and recommended she be charged with wilful promotion of hatred and public incitement of hatred for an April 29, 2024 speech at the Vancouver Art Gallery in which she praised the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel as “heroic and brave.”
Kates further led the crowd in a chant of “Long live Oct. 7,” and called for the delisting of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah and several other groups as terrorist organizations, describing them as “resistance fighters” and “heroes.”
Kates’ own group, the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, was later itself declared to be a terrorist entity by the Canadian government.
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But despite the Vancouver police recommendation, the B.C. Prosecution Service has yet to decide whether or not to approve charges 13 months later.
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Aron Csaplaros, B.C. regional manager for B’nai Brith Canada, called the delay “concerning.”
“It’s really in the hands of the BC Prosecution Service and the attorney general of British Columbia to approve charges, because for the charge of wilful promotion of hatred, the attorney general or the deputy attorney general does have to sign off on that charge,” he said.
“This ongoing inaction raises serious questions about enforcement and protections for vulnerable communities in general, not just the Jewish community.”
In a statement, BC Prosecution Service communications counsel Damienne Darby said the “matter remains under charge assessment, and I am unable to provide a timeline for completion.”
Former Crown prosecutor Rob Dhanu, K.C., who is not involved with the case, questioned why the prosecution service has yet to make a decision.
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“Here, the smoking gun, so to speak, is the video. And the video essentially shows what Ms. Kates said at that time. So the evidence is straightforward,” he said.
“The prosecution service has not really provided any real reason as to why this case is taking so long to determine whether it should be charge-approved or not.”
Dhanu said if it proceeded to trial, the case could hinge on whether prosecutors could prove that Kates’ statements went beyond an expression of opinion, and into incitement.
“Section 319 of the (Criminal) Code is very specific in that the Crown has to have evidence to show there is a likelihood because of that hate speech is that the peace will be breached,” he said.
“Really, it is Ms. Kates expressing her opinion, it is not a black-and-white case in terms of the facts. For instance, if Ms. Kates said, well look, Israel doesn’t have the right to exist, and to facilitate that, we should be attacking synagogues, we have a very direct cause and effect where we can see why people would follow what she’s saying and follow what she is asking for. Here it’s far more grey.”
Global News is seeking comment from Samidoun.
— with files from Rumina Daya
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