Free speech has limits, says Canada PM when asked about Prophet Mohammed cartoons

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau defended free speech on Friday, but added that it was “not without limits” and should not “arbitrarily and needlessly hurt” certain communities.

“We will always defend freedom of expression,” Trudeau said in response to a question about the right to show a caricature of the Prophet Mohammed, as France’s Charlie Hebdo magazine did.

Read more: Nice attack: Twitter removes Mahathir’s tweet on killing millions of French people

“But freedom of expression is not without limits,” he added. “We owe it to ourselves to act with respect for others and to seek not to arbitrarily or unnecessarily injure those with whom we are sharing a society and a planet.”

“We do not have the right for example to shout fire in a movie theater crowded with people, there are always limits,” he argued.

Distancing himself from the position of French President Emmanuel Macron, Trudeau pleaded for a careful use of free speech.

Muslim protesters gather during a demonstration against French President Emmanuel Macron for his comments over the Prophet Mohammed caricatures in Yogyakarta on October 30, 2020. (AFP)

“In a pluralist, diverse and respectful society like ours, we owe it to ourselves to be aware of the impact of our words, of our actions on others, particularly these communities and populations who still experience a great deal of discrimination,” he said.

Read more: Watch: Saudi man arrested for crashing car into courtyard of Grand Mosque in Mecca

At the same time, he said society is ready for a public debate on these issues, “to have these complex conversations in a responsible way.”

As he had done the day before with the leaders of the European Union, Trudeau insisted on condemning the recent “awful and appalling” extremist attacks in France.

“It is unjustifiable and Canada wholeheartedly condemns these acts while standing with our French friends who are going through extremely difficult times,” he said.

French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech in front of Samuel Paty’s coffin (unseen) inside Sorbonne University’s courtyard in Paris on October 21, 2020. (AFP)

Canada’s parliament observed a moment of silence on Thursday for the three people stabbed to death earlier in a church in Nice, in southern France, by a Tunisian man who was apprehended.

Read more: Tunisia to probe Mahdi Organization for links to Nice attack, says state media

Anger erupted in the Middle East in response to Macron defending the right to publish the cartoons in France.

Macron made the comments during a tribute last week to Samuel Paty, a teacher beheaded in the street for showing caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed in class in a course on freedom of expression.

Read more:

Clashes at Lebanon’s capital Beirut as people protest French cartoons of the Prophet

Thousands rally in Jerusalem against France’s Macron over the Prophet cartoons

Qatar says airport officials behind invasive exams of women referred to prosecutors