OTTAWA (LifeSiteNews) – Canadian Conservative Party MP Leslyn Lewis blasted a new Liberal “hate crime” bill, calling it a “dangerous” piece of legislation that she says will open the door for authorities to possibly prosecute Canadians’ speech deemed “hateful.”
In an X post on Tuesday, Lewis slammed the Liberal government’s Bill C-9, or the Combating Hate Act, in a scathing post.
Lewis observed that the bill, as written, “expands state power to prosecute speech under unclear rules and with fewer checks on government abuse.”
“Canadians must be alert: broad definitions & weaker Attorney General oversight increases the risk of government abuse,” she warned.
Lewis noted how the bill will change Section 319 of the Criminal Code “in two dangerous ways.”
She then went through a variety of sections in the bill, commenting on her concerns with them.
Lewis noted how Section 319(6) will remove the “Attorney General’s consent, eliminating a safeguard that prevents political or overzealous prosecutions.”
She said Section 319(7) of the bill will redefine “hatred” as an “emotion” of “detestation or vilification,” which she noted is “a vague and subjective test that could capture ordinary debate or criticism.”
As it stands now, Section 319(6) of Canada’s Criminal Code mandates consent of the nation’s attorney general before a person can be hit with a hate crime charge. Lewis warned that Bill C-9 will eliminate this protection.
Bill C-9 was brought forth in the House of Commons on September 19 by Justice Minister Sean Fraser.
The Mark Carney Liberals have boasted that the bill will make it a crime for people to block the entrance to, or intimidate people from attending, a church or other place of worship, a school, or a community centre. The bill would also make it a crime to promote so-called hate symbols and would, in effect, ban the display of certain symbols, such as the Nazi flag.
The Liberal government, since taking power in 2015, has brought forth many new bills that, in effect, censor internet content, as well as go after people’s ability to speak their minds.
For example, Bill C-63, or the Online Harms Act, was put forth under the guise of protecting children from exploitation online. The bill died earlier this year after former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the 2025 federal election.
While protecting children is indeed a duty of the state, the bill included several measures that targeted vaguely defined “hate speech” infractions involving race, gender, and religion, among other categories. The proposal was thus blasted by many legal experts.
As reported by LifeSiteNews, a recent Trudeau-appointed Canadian senator said that he and other “interested senators” want Carney to revive a controversial Trudeau-era internet censorship bill that lapsed.
Another recent Carney government Bill C-2, which looks to ban cash donations over $10,000, was blasted by a constitutional freedom group as a “step towards tyranny.”
Carney, as reported by LifeSiteNews, vowed to continue in Trudeau’s footsteps, promising even more legislation to crack down on lawful internet content.
He has also said his government plans to launch a “new economy” in Canada that will involve “deepening” ties to the world.
LifeSiteNews reported that former Minister of Environment Steven Guilbeault, known for his radical climate views, will be the person in charge of implementing Bill C-11, a controversial bill passed in 2023 that aims to censor legal internet content in Canada.
