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You may have been following news around Bill C-9 and the matter of religious belief defense.  Here is an update from our ministry partner, the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada.  Julia Beazley is the Director of Public Policy for the EFC’s Centre for Faith and Public Life.  She shares...

The outcome of Tuesday’s (December 9) vote in the Justice Committee is profoundly disappointing.  The Justice Committee passed an amendment to Bill C-9 that removes the good faith religious belief defence from section 319(3) of the Criminal Code. In a split vote, the Liberal and Bloc MPs voted for this change and Conservative MPs opposed.  The committee is still working through changes to Bill C-9. It will continue to debate and vote on other important elements of the bill, such as the definition of hatred. The Justice Committee briefly resumed hearings yesterday afternoon but has now adjourned until January.  The Justice Minister has said he will try to understand the concerns of religious groups on removal of the defence.

Once the committee is finished studying the bill and recommending changes, the bill will return to the House of Commons for all MPs to vote on it. And from there, the Senate.  This significant change was not part of the original bill. Regrettably, adequate time was not given in committee to properly study the defence, its purpose and how it has been interpreted by the Courts.  There is no identified problem with the good faith religious belief defence or its application. Because it is not over-used or mis-used, removing it is unnecessary.  The Supreme Court has been clear that the defences, including the religious belief defence, were essential to the constitutionality of s. 319 of the Criminal Code.  In a statement released ahead of the committee meeting Tuesday, Minister Fraser said “Canadians will always to be able to pray, preach, teach, interpret Scripture, and express religious belief in good faith, without fear of criminal sanction.” This is an important statement from the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada.

We and many others were very disturbed by the comments made by the former chair of the Justice Committee, now Minister of Canadian Identity, that certain passages of Scripture are hateful, in and of themselves. Ultimately, it is the courts that will determine what constitutes wilful promotion of hatred, and thus far, they have set the bar very high. Nonetheless, we would like the Justice Minister to officially disavow these comments by his colleague.  Another serious concern is that the definition currently in Bill C-9 is watered down from what the Courts have said. It is essential that the committee strengthen the definition of hate in the bill so that it more closely mirrors what the courts have said. That is likely to be debated and voted on in future committee meetings.  The amendment to remove the good faith religious defence does not create a new offence. It does not criminalize any speech that wasn’t already criminal. It doesn’t, itself, make it a criminal offence to read or teach from Scripture.  The courts have not found the reading or teaching of Scripture to be promotion of hatred, in and of itself, even apart from this defence. However, as the courts have articulated, the defence does not allow intended messages of hate to be shielded simply because they include a religious text or are framed within religious content.

This defence is meant to ensure that the hate speech offences are not used to silence or supress religious beliefs that others find objectionable or offensive. This safeguard is particularly important in the context of current public discourse where minority religious beliefs are frequently described as hateful.  In terms of timing, the House of Commons is on a break now until January 26. After the committee is finished studying the bill, it will go back to the House of Commons for a final vote. There is still time to act. If enough MPs hear from their constituents, they can oppose this change.  If the bill passes in the House of Commons, it will next go to the Senate. We can ask Senators to ensure ample time for study of the bill and of this amendment, and to hear from faith communities about how this amendment will impact them.  What you can do:

(1)   There is still time to contact your MP. Bill C-9 is still being studied by the Justice Committee and MPs will have a chance to vote on amendments and the bill as a whole. Find your MP here. The EFC’s talking points with sample wording are at TheEFC.ca/C-9.  Ask your local MP to bring back the good faith religious belief defence; make sure the definition of hatred is strong and carefully worded; and enforce existing laws to protect religious minorities and address the alarming level of antisemitism in Canada.

(2)  Plan to contact your province’s Senators in the New Year. Senators aren’t elected but may be open to persuasion and evidence. It’s important that they hear from concerned Canadians about a need to look at this closely.

(3)  Pray that as Christians in Canada we would honour God and love our neighbour in all of our interactions, including on this bill.