Bill C-9 has now passed in both the House of Commons and the Senate, and will become law.
In its final stage, the House of Commons voted on June 17, 2026, to accept a change to the bill’s list of symbols that had passed in the Senate.
The provisions of Bill C-9 will take effect on the 30
th day after it receives Royal Assent. The Governor General usually provides Royal Assent to legislation within days to weeks of it passing.
Many Canadian Christians are wondering what will change with the passing of Bill C-9.
The good faith religious belief defence is removed
If a person is charged and found guilty of wilfully promoting hatred, there will no longer be a defence for ‘good faith’ religious belief.
This defence was one of four to the wilful promotion of hatred offence. The other defences remain – a person may be found not guilty if they establish the statements were true, for the public benefit, or pointed out so they could be removed.
The wilful promotion of hatred is a relatively rare charge in Canada. Intent is a key element of this offence. A person must intend, by their communication, to promote hatred against an identifiable group.
The wilful promotion of hatred offence doesn’t apply to private conversations.
To date, a very high bar has been set for this offence. We have not seen many people charged with promoting hatred for expressing religious beliefs in Canada.
The religious belief defence has only been invoked a handful of times and never successfully.
The courts have said the religious belief defence did not allow a person to intentionally promote hatred and then add a veneer of religious speech as a kind of Trojan horse to carry intended messages of hate. Rather, it helped protect speech in borderline cases.
The EFC advocated for the defence to be maintained because we believe it is an important safeguard. It ensured the hate speech provisions – intended to protect identifiable groups – weren’t used to silence or suppress the good faith expression of religious beliefs that others may find objectionable or offensive.
Bill C-9 doesn’t introduce a new limitation on religious speech. However, the Supreme Court found the defences – including the religious belief defence – to be important for the constitutionality of the wilful promotion of hatred offence, because they limited the kinds of expression it would capture.
It is not clear what impact the removal of the religious belief defence will have over time, and whether its removal could broaden the understanding of “wilful promotion of hatred.”
The Justice Minister has stated “Canadians will always be able to pray, preach, teach, interpret Scripture and express religious belief in good faith, without fear of criminal sanction.”
In response to concerns raised by faith groups, including the EFC and many Christians across Canada about removal of the religious belief defence, a clarification clause was added to the bill.
Before the Senate Committee, the Minister said that, in his view, a clarification clause shifts the protection of good faith religious practice so that it is considered from the outset, in the definition of hate and what a hate crime is, rather than as a defence.
We would welcome an approach that makes clear that the good faith practice and expression of religious belief isn’t a hate crime to begin with. However, while we appreciate the Justice Minister’s assurances, we found the new clause to be circular, falling short of the expressed goal.
As Christians in Canada, we will keep preaching the Gospel and speaking truth, clearly linking our words to Scripture. Scripture in and of itself has never been found to be the wilful promotion of hatred. Removal of the religious belief defence doesn’t itself criminalize the reading of or teaching from Scripture.
This is a good reminder that our speech should always reflect the love of our God for our neighbour. God’s love is the foundation of our faith and the core of our words and actions. As John 3:16 reminds us, God so loved the world that he sent his only Son. God’s law is summed up as loving God and loving our neighbour, as Jesus affirmed. And Philippians 2:5-8 tells us to have the mind of Christ who emptied himself and became a servant. These core beliefs should root and ground all of our communications and actions. It is wise and fulfills the Gospel to make that clear.
The EFC will monitor the effects of Bill C-9 and will continue to advocate for freedom of religion and belief.
For more information on the other provisions of the bill, please see
www.TheEFC.ca/C-9.