(LifeSiteNews) – A top Canadian Constitutional freedom group launched a petition demanding that a Liberal government bill that would criminalize parts of the Bible dealing with homosexuality under Canada’s new “hate speech” laws be fully rescinded.
The Canadian Constitution Foundation (CCF) said that Bill C-9, or the Combating Hate Act, “Crosses the Line” and is asking Canadians to sign its petition calling for its demise.
The petition reads, “Bill C-9 is an urgent threat to free expression in Canada,” adding that the government’s “so-called ‘Combating Hate Act” would make sweeping changes to Canada’s hate speech and hate crime laws.”
“While prejudice and discrimination should be condemned, the proposed law gives the government new power to subjectively determine which words and ideas are acceptable – a direct threat to the Charter right to freedom of expression,” reads the open petition that anyone can sign and send to MPs.
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal government, as reported by LifeSiteNews recently, passed amendments to the bill removing a religious exception.
The bill still has to be voted on in the House of Commons and then looked at by the Senate.
According to the CCF, Bill C-9 would lower the “threshold for ‘hatred,’” and rewrite ‘“the legal definition so that more speech could be criminalized, including speech considered merely offensive.”
The CCF noted that Bill C-9 also removes “key safeguards,” noting that it would mean Canada’s Attorney General would “no longer need to approve hate speech prosecutions, opening the door to political or ideological targeting.”
It would also create a new “standalone hate offence” that would mean that even minor regulatory breaches “could be turned into serious crimes if labelled ‘motivated by hatred,’” according to the CCF.
Additionally, the CCF warned that Bill C-9, as written, would also “criminalize” the display of certain symbols, noting that “outlawing specific images will not end hate, but drive it underground and make it harder to confront.”
Lastly, the CCF said that Bill C-9 threatens religious discourse.
“Removing defences for good-faith religious expression risks criminalizing honest discussion based on deeply held beliefs,” the CCF said.
“If it proceeds as written, Bill C-9 will chill debate, silence dissent, and erode one of the most fundamental freedoms in our democracy,” the CCF warned.
The petition calls upon those who sign it to urge their MPs to “take a clear stand for freedom of expression and do everything in your power to stop Bill C-9 from becoming law.”
“The CCF urges Parliament to reject Bill C-9 in its current form. Canadians are not safer when controversial speech is driven underground. The best answer to hate is more speech – not censorship,” the CCF noted.
The amendments to Bill C-9 have been condemned by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, who penned an open letter to the Carney Liberals, blasting the proposed amendment and calling for its removal.
