OTTAWA (LifeSiteNews) — Canada’s top constitutional freedom group urged citizens Canadians to contact their senators at once to pressure them to vote against a Liberal bill criminalizing religious expression and belief when quoting parts of the Bible, including passages about homosexuality and gender.
In an X post, the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) said that the Senate will soon debate Bill C-9, or the Combatting Hate Act, meaning action must be taken beforehand.
“Canadians concerned that the legislation could expose individuals to hate crime charges for quoting religious texts are encouraged to contact senators from their province to share their views,” the JCCF said.
The JCCF shared a link to senators to help Canadians make their voices heard.
As reported by LifeSiteNews, MPs from the Liberal Party and the Bloc Québécois passed Bill C-9, known as the “Combatting Hate Act,” in a 186-137 vote last week. 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.
The JCCF mentioned before Bill C-9 passed that it would “empower police” and the government to go after those it deems have violated a person’s “feelings” in a “hateful” way.
JCCF president John Carpay warned that Bill C-9 is dangerous.
“Canada’s Criminal Code should punish bad behavior, not bad feelings. Canadians need protection from crime, not from offensive opinions that might be considered ‘hateful’ by some but not by others,” Carpay said.
Carpay said the Liberals seem “fixated on further criminalizing feelings of hatred that criminals may have had when carrying out their crimes.”
“Defining hate is near-impossible, as can be seen whenever politicians and judges attempt to do so,” he observed.
Jack Fonseca, Campaign Life Coalition’s (CLC) director of political operations, said Catholics and all Christians must be prepared to “battle” for their religious rights.
Conservative MPs had tried but failed to rescind a Liberal amendment to the bill that removes a religious exemption.
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.
