A federal bill addressing anti-religious threats and violence has been amended to remove an important protection for minority religious groups. The EFC believes this protection should not be removed – and asks concerned Canadians to contact their MPs.
Bill C-9, the Combating Hate Act, was introduced in September. It proposes changes to the Criminal Code requested by the Jewish community as a response to the alarming rise in antisemitism in Canada.
“We understand the danger when groups are targeted on the basis of religious belief,” says EFC President David Guretzki. “At a time of growing concern about intolerance toward religious groups, Parliament’s duty to ensure the protection of faith communities is especially critical.”
Bill C-9 creates new offences such as obstructing access to religious and community sites, committing an offence motivated by hate, and promoting hatred using terrorist symbols.
The EFC supports the intent of the bill to protect religious sites, but has expressed concerns – notably with the bill’s definition of hatred, which is looser than the definition developed by the courts and currently in use.
A major concern arose when the bill was being studied. The Bloc Québécois MP on the committee successfully advocated for the bill to also remove an existing protection for religious expression – the good faith religious relief defence from the hate speech provisions in the Criminal Code.
This defence is an important protection for minority religious groups whose beliefs may not be shared by the general public. It helps to ensure the hate provisions aren’t used to silence or suppress religious beliefs that others may find objectionable or offensive.
If a person is found to have wilfully promoted hatred, there are four defences that can be invoked. The first defence is truth. The second is if “in good faith, a person expressed an opinion based on a religious subject or based on a belief in a religious text.
Back in its 1990 Keegstra decision, the Supreme Court found the defences, including the good faith religious belief defence, to be integral to the constitutionality of the wilful promotion of hatred offence.
The religious belief defence has rarely been invoked, and never successfully. The courts have interpreted it narrowly and carefully. They have clearly stated this defence doesn’t allow someone to intentionally embed hateful communication within religious language, like a Trojan Horse.
“This protection for expressing beliefs based on religious texts isn’t being overused or abused,” says Julia Beazley, EFC Director of Public Policy. “There is no identified problem with the defence.”
The proposal to remove the defence comes at a time when minority religious beliefs on marriage, sexuality and gender are increasingly marginalized and described as hateful.
“In this context, what does it communicate to minority religious communities to remove this important safeguard from the Criminal Code’s hate speech provisions?” asks Beazley.
The committee will continue to study Bill C-9 and vote on changes to it, including its definition of hatred, when the House of Commons resumes at the end of January.
The EFC was also concerned that the bill would have removed the requirement that the attorney general consent when hate crime charges are laid. Fortunately, the committee has voted to amend the bill to keep that requirement.
The House of Commons is able to remove or reject changes made in committee.
Though rarely used, the EFC believes the religious belief defence is an important protection for minority religious groups. In a written submission to the committee and communications with MPs, we’ve asked for it to be maintained.
We encourage concerned Canadians to contact their MPs. Find more information and sample MP communications at TheEFC.ca/C-9.
What you can do
- Ask your MP (find them at OurCommons.ca/Members) to bring back the good faith religious belief defence, strengthen the definition of hatred in Bill C-9, and address increasing anti-religious threats and violence.
- Pray that as Christians in Canada, we would honour God and love our neighbour in all of our interactions, including on Bill C-9.
Also in this issue:
Laying foundations for disagreeing well, Sacred Assembly celebrated in January, New survey tool to study Evangelicals, A note from EFC President David Guretzki.