In January 2019, Ontario court Judge Richard Blouin, now retired, convicted the two men of two counts of promoting hatred. Newspaper 'promoted hate to a vast audience'Blouin said he would have handed Sears a much stiffer sentence had the law allowed. "Mr. Sears ... promoted hate to a vast audience in an era where online exposure to this material inexorably leads to extremism and the potential of mass casualties," Blouin said at the time. He also told court he had applied preemptively to the Court of Appeal for interim release pending further appeal. "He needs to be ordered into custody today," Bernstein told Cavanagh.

Source: CBC News June 14, 2021 17:01 UTC