Justice Minister Sean Fraser, then Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities responds to a question during question period in the House of Commons on December 12, 2023. . (screen shot)
Justice Minister Sean Fraser says freedom of religion in Canada would not be impacted by an amendment to his hate crime bill aiming to remove the religious defence to hate speech. His comments came ahead of Liberal and Bloc Québécois MPs on the House of Commons justice committee approving the proposed changes to Bill C-9, the Combatting Hate Act, on Dec. 9.
“Canada’s commitment to freedom of religion is unwavering. Freedom of religion is a fundamental guarantee under section 2(a) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Nothing in this amendment changes that,” Fraser said in a statement released on Dec. 9.
Fraser’s statement came after the Bloc had announced on Dec. 1 that it had reached an agreement with the Liberals to pass its amendment to remove the religious defence to hate speech in the Criminal Code.
Later in the week, the Bloc said the Liberals were pulling out of the deal because of pressure from religious communities. Liberals need support from an opposition party to pass Bill C-9. On Dec. 9, Liberal MPs on the justice committee voted with the Bloc to approve the amendment.
The bill still needs to be voted on by the House of Commons, and be studied and approved by the Senate, before it can be passed into law.
The amendment is opposed by the Conservatives, saying it suppresses religious freedom.
The Criminal Code currently states that an individual cannot be convicted of incitement of hatred if, “in good faith, the person 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.”
The Bloc has said this provision has allowed for individuals to foment hatred against Jews following the Hamas terrorist attacks against Israel in October 2023 and the subsequent war in the Gaza Strip.
Discussions With Bloc
After Liberals cut short a justice committee meeting reviewing C-9 on Dec. 3 and cancelled a committee meeting on Dec. 4, a CBC News report based on anonymous sources said Fraser had not cleared his deal with the Bloc with the Prime Minister’s Office, which had put the bill in jeopardy.
Fraser commented on the matter on Dec. 9 during an unrelated press conference. He confirmed having had discussions with the Bloc on the amendment but said he had kept the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in the loop.
“We’ve been in lockstep with PMO. I’ve engaged personally with the prime minister,” said Fraser. “Our team has engaged with his team repeatedly over the last number of months, increasingly over the last number of weeks, including on this bill, including on potential amendments, not just on the religious exemption, but on a range of other items.”
Fraser’s Statement and Opposition
Fraser’s statement, which outlines support for the Bloc amendment, said that communities across Canada are facing a “disturbing rise in hate-motivated intimidation and violence,” and Bill C-9 is meant to protect Canadians and allow them to freely practice their religion without obstruction or intimidation.
Fraser said with the justice committee discussing an amendment repealing the religious exemption from the Criminal Code, some faith leaders in Canada have expressed concern that freedom of religion or expression could be under threat. He said this is not the case, as the threshold for a hate-propaganda offence is “intentionally and appropriately extraordinarily high.”
Fraser said the Crown must first prove the wilful promotion of hatred, and then prove that the expression meets the Supreme Court’s definition of hatred, which is “extreme vilification that goes far beyond criticism, doctrinal teaching, or moral commentary.” The justice minister said most religious texts do not meet this threshold.
Fraser said removing the religious exemption would clarify the law while “maintaining the full constitutional protection for freedom of religion and freedom of expression.”
Conservatives have said the Bloc amendments to Bill C-9 would lead to religious texts being criminalized, and have pointed to Culture Minister Marc Miller saying he considers sections of the Bible mentioning homosexuality “hateful.”
Religious groups have also expressed opposition to the Bloc amendments, with some groups hosting a press conference on Dec. 3 on Parliament Hill and visiting the justice committee as it was reviewing Bill C-9 and close to hearing the Bloc’s amendments.
The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops has asked for the religious exemption to be preserved.
Some Jewish groups like the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs and B’nai Brith Canada have expressed support for Bill C-9. They have said religious freedom would remain protected by the Charter, while urging parliamentarians to build consensus.
Bill C-9 seeks to create new hate-related offences for blocking access to places of worship. The bill would also create an offence of wilfully promoting hatred against any identifiable group by displaying “certain symbols” in a public place.
During the justice committee meeting on Dec. 9, a Liberal amendment was passed to remove the words “Nazi swastika” as a symbol banned under the bill, and instead consider sufficient the current mention of the Nazi cross or “Hakenkreuz.” This was said to be made in order to address concerns from Hindus and other religious groups who consider the swastika an ancient sacred symbol.
Conservative MP Andrew Lawton proposed adding the communist hammer and sickle to the list of hate symbols, but the amendment was rejected by the Liberal and Bloc MPs.
After clearing committee, Bill C-9 will be sent back to the House of Commons for third reading.