Bill C-9 debate raises religious freedom, hate crime concerns
Concerns about rising hate crimes and the protection of religious expression are colliding in Ottawa, as debate over Bill C-9 draws sharp reaction from faith communities across Portage–Lisgar and beyond. While the federal government says the legislation is meant to address hate speech and attacks, critics argue proposed changes risk undermining long-standing Charter protections.
Portage–Lisgar MP Branden Leslie says the bill attempts to respond to an undeniable rise in hate crimes, but its approach has raised serious questions about unintended consequences.
“The reality is that hate crimes in this country have increased dramatically,” Leslie says. “We have seen attacks on churches, firebombings at synagogues, shootings, and violence directed at mosques. That is a real problem, and nobody disputes the need to address it.”
Leslie explains that Bill C-9 seeks to expand elements of the Criminal Code related to hate speech, something he says is not inherently wrong.
“We already have hate speech laws in Canada,” Leslie notes. “It is illegal to incite hatred against identifiable groups, and it is illegal to call for genocide. The issue has not been a lack of laws, but a lack of enforcement and prosecutions in serious cases.”
He says the controversy intensified when the bill proposed removing a long-standing legal defence protecting good-faith religious expression.
“This is where alarm bells started ringing for people,” Leslie explains. “The Criminal Code currently protects individuals who quote or express sincerely held religious beliefs in good faith. That protection has been upheld by the Supreme Court, and it exists for a reason.”
Leslie says faith leaders across denominations questioned why that defence was being targeted.
“This provision has nothing to do with violent attacks,” he continues. “Quoting a religious text in good faith is fundamentally different from throwing a Molotov cocktail at a synagogue. Conflating those two things is deeply troubling.”
Leslie says confusion surrounding the bill was compounded by political pressure from the Bloc Québécois, which he argues pushed for the removal of the defence for reasons unrelated to public safety.
“There is a belief among some Bloc members that this defence protected an imam in Quebec who called for genocide,” Leslie says. “That belief is false. He was never charged, despite existing laws that clearly could have been used.”
He adds that faith communities became increasingly concerned after public comments from a federal minister suggested criminal charges could apply to quoting certain religious texts.
“That created a chilling effect,” Leslie explains. “People began asking whether simply quoting Scripture in public could put them at risk. That concern spread very quickly.”
Leslie says the response from Canadians was swift and overwhelming.
“This became one of the most written-about issues I have ever seen,” he adds. “We received close to 1,000 emails, and people raised it everywhere I went. Canadians from all faith backgrounds were saying the same thing; this crosses a line.”
He says parliamentary proceedings are currently paused, but the issue remains unresolved.
“My hope is that the government takes this break to speak with faith leaders in their own ridings and recognizes that this was a mistake,” Leslie continues. “There may be elements of the bill worth supporting, but removing protections for religious expression is not one of them.”
