Christians, others, could risk prosecution for expressing sincerely held beliefs

Last week my headline was ‘Charitable status secure, but underlying attitudes could still lead to problems.’

That is, the Liberal government reassured faith groups that the government is not considering removing the advancement of religion as a qualifying charitable purpose.

But one fears that it might be on the verge of eroding religious groups’ freedom of speech.

The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada noted November 17 that Justice Committee Chair Marc Miller had directed a challenging question to Derek Ross of the Christian Legal Fellowship October 30:

I want to dig in a little bit to the concept of ‘good faith,’ Mr. Ross. In Leviticus, Deuteronomy, Romans . . . . there’s other passages . . . there is clear hatred towards, for example, homosexuals.

I don’t understand how the concept of ‘good faith’ can be invoked if someone were, literally invoking a passage from, in this case, the Bible, but there are other religious texts that say the same thing, and somehow say that this is good faith.

“Clearly there are situations in these texts where these statements are hateful.

Prime Minister Marc Carney brought Miller into his cabinet December 1 as Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture. One of Miller’s first acts in his new role was to comment on ‘hate-speech.’

Headlines in the National Post (December 1) and on CTV News (December 2) tell the story: ‘

1. Liberal deal with Bloc means hate-speech laws will lose exemption for ‘sincerely held’ religious belief
2. Religion shouldn’t be exempted from hate speech law: Liberal minister

CTV News interviewed Miller, who stated that he is a Christian. The article began:

Culture Minister Marc Miller expressed support Tuesday for removing a religious exemption on hate speech from the Criminal Code.

Miller told reporters he doesn’t “think people should be using the Bible, the Qur’an or the Torah to escape from committing a hate crime or claim that . . . what would otherwise be a hate crime is done in the name of a religious text.”

Miller chaired the justice committee until he rejoined cabinet on Monday. He said in French in a follow-up comment he was offering his own perspective and it remains to be seen what the government and the justice committee will do.

The Bloc Quebecois said in a press release Monday the party had the government’s support for an amendment to get rid of the exemption.

The comments follow a report by the National Post saying the Liberals had reached a deal with the Bloc to remove the exemption in exchange for supporting the Liberals’ hate crime bill, C-9.

The Bloc supports Quebec’s strict provincial secular laws, which ban religious symbols for public workers like teachers and police officers.

Pay close attention

CBC News reported December 3 that changes could be imminent:

The Bloc Québécois is planning to introduce an amendment to a Liberal government bill that would remove a religious exemption from Canada’s hate speech laws, a source has told CBC News.

The Criminal Code currently includes an exemption for hate speech, “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 is expected to introduce the amendment to remove that section of the code as part of Bill C-9 – dubbed the Combatting Hate Act – during a clause-by-clause review at the House justice committee on Thursday afternoon.

The CTV News story noted, 

In a social media post, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said his party will oppose the amendment, which he called an “assault on freedom of expression and religion.”

Two Conservative MPs – Garnett Genuis from Alberta and Andrew Lawton from Ontario (both Christians) hosted a zoom meeting on December 2, warning participants to act quickly.

The BC & Yukon District of the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada – and no doubt other faith groups – urged their members to participate.

Genuis posted a short bulletin October 1:

This is an unprecedented assault on religious freedom – for churches, synagogues, gurdwaras and mosques alike.

With this change to Bill C-9, faith communities that have worshipped freely for our entire history could find themselves at risk of prosecution simply for expressing their sincerely held beliefs.

This opens the door to citizens being subject to state censorship and prosecution for quoting scripture or speaking on issues of faith.

Conservatives will fight tooth and nail against this reckless and unfounded attack on our fundamental freedoms. We will stand firm for your freedom to worship, speak, and live according to your faith.

During the zoom call they said that because the proposed change is contained in amendment it will not be exposed to the same kind of scrutiny that the rest of the legislation has received, and could be passed quickly.

I have not seen any responses from the ecumenical groups yet – Canadian Council of Churches, Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC) – but I have no doubt they will be coming soon.

[October 4 note: The Permanent Council of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops has sent an open letter to the Prime Minister which stated, “we write to you today to express deep concern regarding recent reports that your government, in co-operation with the Bloc Québécois, plans to remove the long-standing religious exemption in Section 319(3)(b) of the Criminal Code as part of Bill C-9 amendments.”]

In the meantime, it might be helpful, as background, to read this November 14 post from the EFC, which clearly saw disturbing signs from the Liberal Party and the Bloc:

• Talking points on the good faith religious belief defence

A key defence of beliefs based on religious texts is being discussed by MPs on the parliamentary Justice Committee. The Bloc Québécois has indicated they will introduce an amendment to remove this defence. We are very concerned such an amendment may pass.

We believe this is an important time to engage and ask local MPs to express support for the good faith religious belief defence and to oppose any amendment to remove it.

Here is the context:

• • The Justice Committee is studying Bill C-9, a hate crimes bill. (See the EFC’s summary of the bill at TheEFC.ca/C9.)
  • Jewish and other minority religious groups are asking for the changes in Bill C-9 as a way to address increased harassment and threats.
  • The EFC supports the bill’s intent to address anti-religious threats and violence, and ensure adherents are able to access religious facilities without hindrance or intimidation. The EFC is preparing a written brief that will make recommendations for changes to the bill, such as a tightened definition of hatred.
  • There are currently four defences to the wilful promotion of hatred offence in section 319(2) of the Criminal Code. One of these defences is if “in good faith” the person expressed an opinion based on a religious subject or based on a belief in a religious text.
  • This defence has rarely been used but we believe it’s an important protection for the expression of religious beliefs. (See the EFC’s backgrounder on the defence at TheEFC.ca/C9.)
  • The Bloc has indicated they plan to introduce an amendment to Bill C-9 that would remove the good faith religious belief defence. This amendment has a chance of passing.
  • Changes made to legislation in committee are often adopted when the bill is passed.
  • The Justice Committee is likely to finish its study and vote internally on its changes at the end of this month.

Read on for how to contact your MP, some talking points you could convey and a sample script you could use when making a phone call or writing an email.

• Talking points
• • The good faith religious belief defence is an important protection for minority religious groups whose beliefs may not be shared by the general public or align with other groups.
  • This defence helps to ensure the hate provisions aren’t used to silence or suppress religious beliefs that others may find objectionable or offensive.
  • This defence is not being overused or abused. It has rarely been invoked, and never successfully.
  • The court has said that this defence doesn’t allow someone to intentionally embed hateful communication within religious language, like a Trojan Horse.
  • If there’s a concern that the defence might protect people promoting hatred under the guise of religion, its parameters and application should be tested by laying charges and arguing in court – not by removing the defence when there is no evidence of its overuse or misuse.
  • The defences (including the good faith religious belief defence) were found to be essential to the constitutionality of the wilful promotion of hatred offence in the Supreme Court’s Keegstra decision.
  • What will it communicate to religious minority communities if this protection of expressing beliefs based on their religious texts is removed?
  • The proposal to remove the good faith religious belief defence is being put on the table at a time when minority religious beliefs on marriage, sexuality and gender are increasingly marginalized and frequently described as hateful.
  • Removing this defence would further marginalize religious minority communities, at a minimum. It would give the perception that beliefs grounded in religious texts are less protected.
  • The removal of this defence may have far-reaching unintended consequences.

• Contact your MP

Find your MP using your postal code at ourcommons.ca/members.

You can use one or both of the following samples [go here] to help shape what you might say in a letter or phone call to your MP.

Go here for the EFC ‘talking points,’ which include suggestions for a sample phone call or email.

Go here for the EFC’s ‘Submission to the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights on Bill C-9, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (hate propaganda, hate crime and access to religious or cultural places).’