Canada’s hate speech bill could criminalize Bible quotes, critics say

A proposed hate speech bill in Canada is drawing backlash from critics who warn it could chill religious discourse and subject some people to prosecution for quoting the Bible.

Bill C-9The “Combating Hate Bill,” introduced by Canadian Liberal Justice Minister Sean Fraser, passed the House of Commons on March 25 and now heads to the Senate. The measure would expand Canada’s hate speech laws, create a new hate crime offense and add penalties for those who intimidate or prevent people from accessing places of worship, cultural sites, schools, retirement homes and cemeteries.

The harshest criticism of the bill focuses on the repeal of the long-standing defense for religious speech in some criminal hate speech cases.

Christian and Muslim groups say the change could chill sermons, religious debates and other faith-based expression, while the Liberal government and some Jews say advocacy groups say The aim of the bill is not to criminalize religion, but to combat antisemitism.

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Andrew Lawton, a Canadian Conservative member of Parliament who opposes the bill, said the law could leave faith communities vulnerable to prosecution for sharing their beliefs or quoting Scripture.

“Bill C-9 makes it easier to criminally charge people of faith and others for views that offend other people,” he said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “The bill weakens protections for free speech and religious freedom, particularly by removing the long-standing religious defense that religious beliefs and religious texts expressed in good faith cannot be viewed as ‘hateful’.”

Lawton said the measures in the bill were not enough, noting that Liberal officials had already signaled that people who quote certain passages from the Bible could be prosecuted.

“It is not the government’s job to decide which religious beliefs are legitimate and which are not,” he added. “People of faith can and should debate this. But for a Liberal cabinet minister to say that certain verses of Scripture are inherently hateful and that prosecutors should be able to bring charges against anyone who quotes those verses is incredibly concerning.”

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Andrew Lawton, a member of the Canadian House of Commons, told Fox News Digital that Canada’s newly passed “Combating Hate Act” would “make it easier for people of faith and others to be criminally charged for views that offend other people.” (House of Commons of Canada)

During a House judiciary committee hearing Last October, Liberal MP Marc Miller, Canada’s Minister of Identity and Culture, suggested that some passages in the Bible were inherently hateful towards homosexuals and questioned the Criminal Code’s original regulation of religious statements made in “good faith”.

“There are passages in Leviticus, Deuteronomy and Romans that contain clear hatred towards homosexuals, for example,” Miller said, according to the hearing transcript. “I don’t see how the concept of good faith can be invoked if someone is literally citing a passage from the Bible, whereas there are other religious texts that say the same thing. How do we establish this as somehow being said in good faith? Obviously, there are cases in these texts where the statements are hateful. They should not be used as a reference or a defense.”

In December, Liberal MPs on the House Judiciary Committee supported a Bloc Québécois proposal to repeal religious defence. CBC reported.

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Faith groups in Canada are warning that religious expression could be prosecuted under the new hate bill. (iStock)

The bill would also create a new offense of deliberately promoting hatred by publicly displaying terrorism-related or Nazi symbols. Creates a separate hate crime offense for a federal crime motivated by hate based on factors such as race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or gender identity.

The bill also says that speech does not incite or promote hatred merely because it “discredits, degrades, offends or offends.” It also clarifies that the law does not prohibit statements on matters of public interest, including religious statements made in the course of discussion, broadcast or debate, unless they deliberately promote hatred.

Lawton said he was concerned about how “bad actors” would “weaponize” hate crime legislation to “silence opposing voices.”

“The bill should absolutely not pass,” he told Fox News Digital. “My colleagues and I have tried to minimize the bill’s harms as best we could. We managed to make some improvements by amending it at committee stage, but many of the key concerns remain. We tried to use strong language confirming that well-intentioned religious beliefs cannot be classified as hateful, but the Liberals rejected these changes.”

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Photo of the Parliament House in Ottawa, Canada. (iStock)

Justice Minister Sean Fraser denied the bill would threaten religious freedom in Canada.

“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. he said in a statement It was released on December 9. “Canadians will always be able to pray, preach, teach, interpret scripture, and express their religious beliefs in good faith without fear of criminal sanction.”

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Fraser did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

According to data announced by Canadian government in MarchPolice-reported hate crimes have increased for the sixth year in a row and are up 169% since 2018.

Canada, Scotland, Australia and the European Union have moved to strengthen hate crime or hate speech legislation in recent years. A Christian man in Malta faces a prison sentence after being prosecuted for publicly sharing his confession of homosexuality. He was found not guilty in March after a three-year legal battle.

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Vice President J.D. Vance and the State Department have also increasingly criticized censorship and attacks on free speech in Europe.