OTTAWA (LifeSiteNews) – Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) Leslyn Lewis warned that the Liberals’ latest amendment to their hate speech laws could imprison priests for quoting Scripture.
In a December 5 post on X, Lewis condemned proposed amendments to Bill C-9, the “Combating Hate Act,” that would allow priests quoting Scripture to be punished by up to two years in prison.
“Under Bill C-9, a pastor, imam, rabbi, or priest can be investigated or penalized if someone claims that a verse from their Scripture is “hateful” which can lead to imprisonment,” she warned.
“This is not an exaggeration. It is the direct legal effect of deleting the exemption,” Lewis continued. “A free society should not put clergy at risk for teaching their own faith.”
“Removing this safeguard crosses a line that Canadians of every belief should be concerned about,” she concluded, linking to a statement by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops condemning the proposed amendment.
As LifeSiteNews previously reported, Catholics are sounding the alarm over legislation that would endanger priests who preach the Gospel to their congregation.
As LifeSiteNews reported earlier this week, inside government sources revealed that Liberals agreed to remove religious exemptions from Canada’s hate speech laws as part of a deal with the Bloc Québécois to keep Liberals in power.
Bill C-9, as reported by LifeSiteNews, has been blasted by constitutional experts as empowering police and the government to go after those it deems to have violated a person’s “feelings” in a “hateful” way.
Now, the Bloc amendment seeks to further restrict free speech. The amendment would remove the “religious exemption” defense, which has historically protected individuals from conviction for willful promotion of hatred if the statements were made “in good faith” and based on a “religious subject” or a “sincerely held” interpretation of religious texts such as passages from the Bible, Quran, or Torah.
As a result, quoting the Bible, Quran, or Torah to condemn abortion, homosexuality, or LGBT propaganda could be considered criminal activity.
Shortly after the proposed amendment was shared on social media, Conservatives launched a petition, calling “on the Liberal government to protect religious freedom, uphold the right to read and share sacred texts, and prevent government overreach into matters of faith.”
Already, in October, Liberal MP Marc Miller said that certain passages of the Bible are “hateful” because of what it says about homosexuality and those who recite the passages should be jailed.
“Clearly there are situations in these texts where these statements are hateful,” Miller said. “They should not be used to invoke or be a defense, and there should perhaps be discretion for prosecutors to press charges.”
His comments were immediately blasted by Conservative politicians throughout Canada, with Alberta provincial Conservative MLA and Minister of Municipal Affairs Dan Williams saying, “I find it abhorrent when MPs sitting in Ottawa – or anyone in positions of power – use their voice to attack faith.”
