OTTAWA (LifeSiteNews) — Canada’s top pro-life group, Campaign Life Coalition (CLC), is warning that the passage of a Liberal bill criminalizing religious expression and belief when quoting parts of the Bible, including about homosexuality and gender, will lead to the “actual persecution” of Christians.
In comments to LifeSiteNews, CLC said the passage of Bill C-9 earlier this week is a warning to Canadians of faith to “prepare for increasing hostility.”
“With the passage of Bill C-9 in the House, Christians and pro-life advocates will almost certainly face an entirely new level of hostility, as the door swings open to actual persecution under a cloak of supposed legality,” said CLC campaigns manager David Cooke, who is also a Christian pastor.
“We must prepare for the battle ahead,” noted Cooke, adding that Canadians need to “commit ourselves afresh to the One who has won the ultimate victory over every foe, demonstrated by His resurrection on that first Easter morning.”
As reported by LifeSiteNews, MPs from the Liberal Party and the Bloc Québécois passed Bill C-9, known as the “Combatting Hate Act,” on Wednesday in a 186–137 vote. Conservatives, NDP, and Green Party MPs voted against the bill in a rare form of unity among the usually opposing parties.
Many Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) MPs blasted the bill’s passage, with MP and former CPC leader Andrew Scheer noting it was a “Dark Day” for Canada.
Jack Fonseca, CLC’s director of political operations, said Catholics and all Christians must be prepared to “battle” for their religious rights.
“The battle to defend religious freedom in Canada has now moved to the Senate, which, unfortunately, Justin Trudeau has spent the past decade stacking with anti-Christian bigots like Kristopher Wells, a radical LGBT activist who I suspect will relish the opportunity to criminalize parts of the Bible as ‘hate speech,’” Fonseca noted.
“We call upon all people of goodwill to flood senators with phone calls, emails, social media comments, and, if possible, personal visits. For those who are Christian, we also encourage these efforts to be reinforced spiritually through extra prayer and fasting between now and the final third reading vote in the Senate. God answers those who ask for help.”
Fonseca said that Canadians must “remain standing and keep fighting in defense of truth, no matter the odds.”
Earlier this week, Liberal MPs forced the bill through the report stage after, as reported by LifeSiteNews, shutting down all debate on the bill in the committee stage.
Conservative MPs have demanded that a Liberal amendment to the bill, which removes a religious exemption, be rescinded immediately.
As reported by LifeSiteNews, Bill C-9 has been blasted by constitutional experts as allowing empowered police and the government to go after those deemed to have violated a person’s “feelings” in a “hateful” way. The bill was introduced by Justice Minister Sean Fraser last year.
The removal of the religious exemption prompted condemnation from the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, who issued an open letter criticizing the proposed amendment and calling for its repeal.
