Nov. 25, 2020
By STEVE ARNOLD
QUESNEL, British Columbia – A convicted hatemonger has been slapped with a 30-day conditional sentence and more probation after being convicted of breaching his probation.
The sentence came a month after Arthur Topham was found guilty of breach of probation. That restriction was imposed following a 2017 conviction for willfully promoting hatred against Jews.
Under the terms of the first probation order, Topham was banned from posting any online content related to Jews, the Jewish religion, Israel, and Israelis and/or Zionism.
Topham was first charged in 2012 after he had called for Jews to be forcibly sterilized, claimed that Canada is “controlled by the Zionist Jew lobby,” and described Jewish places of worship as “synagogues of Satan.” He was convicted by a jury in November 2015.
He then launched a failed constitutional challenge to Canada’s hate speech laws, which delayed his sentencing until March 2017.
Though facing a maximum penalty of two years in prison, he received a six-month curfew and ban on posting online. B’nai Brith Canada condemned that sentence at the time as a “mere slap on the wrist,” warning that it failed to establish a deterrent against future offences.
Originally ordered not to post comments about Jews or Judaism for two years, Topham was accused of violating those conditions.
The latest restrictions are “a positive development in the fight against antisemitism and hate speech in Canada,” said Michael Mostyn, CEO of B’nai Brith Canada. “We need accountability for inciting hatred in this country, and Topham can now serve as an example to remind people that there are real consequences for these sorts of actions against your fellow citizens.”
Both Topham’s original conviction and his re-arrest for breach of probation were made possible through the work of Harry Abrams, a long-time B’nai Brith volunteer based in British Columbia.