The Canadian Liberal government has just rammed through a bill that effectively declares war on the Bible and anyone bold enough to quote it in public.
Canada’s House of Commons passed Bill C-9, the so-called “Combating Hate Act,” in a 186-137 vote Wednesday night.
Liberals and the Bloc voted in lockstep to strip away long-standing protections for religious speech under the Criminal Code. Conservatives, the NDP, and the Greens opposed it. The bill now heads to the Senate.
The bill expands Canada’s hate speech laws and introduces new criminal penalties for what the government defines as the “willful promotion of hatred” against protected groups.
This “anti-hate” legislation guts the good-faith religious defense in Section 319 of the Criminal Code. That defense used to shield Canadians from prosecution when they expressed opinions “based on a belief in a religious text.”
According to the bill:
Rising antisemitism, Islamophobia, homophobia and transphobia have left too many people feeling unsafe in their own communities. The Government of Canada has introduced the Combatting Hate Act to better protect access to places of worship, as well as schools, community centres and other specified places, and to more clearly address and denounce hate-motivated crime.
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Intimidation offence
The proposed intimidation offence would make it a crime to engage in any conduct with the intent to make someone afraid, in order to prevent them from accessing a religious or cultural institution and other specified places. This could include threats, acts of violence, or other intimidating behaviour.
The offence would be punishable by a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment, or two years less a day for less serious offences.
Obstruction offence
The proposed obstruction offence would also make it a crime to intentionally obstruct or interfere with another person’s lawful access to the same places. This would include, for example, deliberately blocking doors, driveways, or roads that are used to get to religious or cultural centres, or not allowing a person to enter those places.
The offence would be punishable by a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment, or two years less a day for less serious offences.
Places protected by the new intimidation and obstruction offences
The proposed intimidation and obstruction offences would protect buildings or structures that are:
- Primarily used for religious worship (e.g., synagogues, mosques, churches, temples and gurdwaras) or cemeteries.
- Primarily used by an “identifiable group”, for administrative, social, cultural, or sports activity purposes, as an educational institution, or as a seniors’ residence.
“Identifiable group” is defined as groups distinguished by colour, race, religion, national or ethnic origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or mental or physical disability.
Hate crime offence
The proposed hate crime offence would apply to anyone committing a federal crime that is motivated by hatred based on specific grounds, such as race, sexual orientation, religion or sex.
The penalty for the new hate crime offence would reflect the harm caused by the illegal act, allowing higher maximum penalties for more serious crimes. For example, the offence of uttering threats carries a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment on indictment (a criminal charge for more serious crimes). If prosecuted under the new hate crime offence, the maximum penalty would increase to 10 years on indictment. Sentencing courts must impose a penalty that reflects the seriousness of the offence and the degree of responsibility of the offender.
Some warn that teachings rooted in religious texts, including the Bible, could face increased legal scrutiny if interpreted as promoting “hatred” under the law’s expanded definitions.
Life Site News reported:
In comments sent to LifeSiteNews, Campaign Life Coalition (CLC) blasted the passage of Bill C-9 and called upon “Christians and pro-life advocates to prepare for increasing hostility.”
“With the passage of Bill C-9 in the House, Christians and pro-life advocates will almost certainly face an entirely new level of hostility, as the door swings open to actual persecution under a cloak of supposed legality,” said CLC’s Campaigns Manager David Cooke, who is also a Christian pastor.
Cooke said the Bill C-9 was framed as a law going after “hate,” but, in reality, it is a bill that religious leaders from various faith communities “say could lead to hate-related charges against believers – empowers ideologically-driven police officers and judges to target, for the first time, the very word of God on matters of life, family, and faith.”
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CLC Director of Political Operations Jack Fonseca noted that Bill C-9 must be stopped in its tracks in the Senate, but admitted it will be a hard battle, as most of the senators were appointed by former Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
“The battle to defend religious freedom in Canada has now moved to the Senate, which, unfortunately, Justin Trudeau has spent the past decade stacking with anti-Christian bigots like Kristopher Wells, a radical LGBT activist who I suspect will relish the opportunity to criminalize parts of the Bible as ‘hate speech,’” he said.
Despite this, Fonseca noted that there is always hope that things could turn around.
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