A Canadian hate speech bill is facing backlash from those arguing that it may damage religious speech, jeopardizing the ability to quote portions of the Bible.
The Combatting Hate Act, or Bill C-9, introduced by Canadian Liberal Justice Minister Sean Fraser, expands Canada’s hate speech laws. A conservative member of Parliament, Andrew Lawton, told Fox News that the bill “makes it easier for people of faith and others to be criminally charged because of views that other people take offense to.” Lawton explained that the bill “weakens protections for freedom of expression and freedom of religion, especially with the removal of the longstanding religious defense, which has stipulated that religious beliefs and religious texts expressed in good faith cannot be seen as ‘hateful.'”
Cardinal Leo of the Archdiocese of Toronto expressed similar concerns, writing that it presents “serious concerns” for faith groups. He wrote that it is “vial that legislation aimed at confronting hatred does not inadvertently limit the lawful expression of religious beliefs or the ability of communities to live out their faith.”
This is not the first “hate speech” bill to raise concerns in Canada. In 2024, reports indicated that a piece of Canadian legislation, Bill C-367, may consider some religious passages to be “hate speech.”
A summary of the bill read, “This enactment amends the Criminal Code to eliminate as a defence against wilful promotion of hatred or antisemitism the fact that a person, in good faith, expressed or attempted to establish by an argument an opinion on a religious subject or an opinion based on a belief in a religious text.”
