Members of Parliament approved third reading of Bill C-309, The Concealment of Identity Act, by a margin of 27, Oct. 31.
The bill, first introduced to Parliament as a Private Member’s Bill by Wild Rose MP Blake Richards in October 2011, gives police the right to arrest anyone wearing a mask during a riot.
“I am pleased that so many of my fellow Members of Parliament recognized the need for this bill,” said Richards. “It fills a hole in Canadian law that is being exploited by violent criminals. It will help protect the public, emergency service workers and legitimate protestors without restricting Canadians’ rights to speech and assembly.”
In May, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada Rob Nicholson announced the government’s support of the legislation.
Bill C-309 will create two new Criminal Code offences with a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for those taking part in a riot while wearing a mask or disguise to conceal identity.
The second will target those who participate in an unlawful assembly while wearing a mask or disguise to conceal identity. The maximum penalty for the offence is five years.
According to the criminal code of Canada, an unlawful assembly is a gathering that causes fear “on reasonable grounds, that they will disturb the peace tumultuously; or will by that assembly needlessly and without reasonable cause provoke other persons to disturb the peace tumultuously.”
A riot is an unlawful assembly that has begun to disturb the peace tumultuously.
Richards is pleased with the result of the Oct. 31 vote.
“My Conservative colleagues rightly recognized the distinction between legitimate protesting and illegal rioting, and helped approve a bill that targets those who attempt to conceal their identity while participating in a riot,” said Richards.
“Similar legislation is in place in the United States, Great Britain and France. Approval of this legislation in Canada is a victory for all of us who witnessed the devastation of the Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal riots and demanded better for our fellow citizens.”
