Canada newspaper editor, publisher found guilty of peddling hate

The publisher and editor of a Toronto newspaper have been found guilty of promoting hate over articles and images that encouraged rape and denied the Holocaust.

The editor-in-chief James Sears, 55, and publisher LeRoy St. Germaine, 77, argued at trial that "Your Ward News" was satire.

But, according to local reports, the judge ruled on Thursday that the evidence of "unrelenting promotion of hate" in its pages was overwhelming. This included references to women as chattel and conspiracy theories about Jews.

A court official confirmed the verdict to AFP. Sentencing of the pair for willfully promoting hatred against identifiable groups is scheduled for April 26. They each face a fine of CAD 5,000 or up to six weeks in prison.

"We have Jesus on our side and we're going to appeal," Sears told reporters outside the courtroom after the verdict.

"I find it very hard to believe that what we published about Jews and women, which a lot of it is right out of the Bible (sic), is hate speech in Canada," he said.

Lisa Kinsella, who had complained publicly about the paper, called the verdict "historic". "It's not only the first time that a charge in Canada has been laid for the promotion of hate against women, it is also a guilty verdict," she told broadcaster CTV.

The free newspaper was delivered to hundreds of thousands of households in Toronto's east end. In 2016, the Canadian government prohibited the postal service from delivering the newspaper. But the duo pressed on.