A law currently making its way through Canada’s House of Commons has prompted concern among Christian leaders, who say it could effectively ban certain biblical passages.
Bill C-9, the Combating Hate Act, is under consideration following a rise in antisemitic violence.
According to The Living Church, antisemitic incidents in Canada have surged since Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October 2023, with reports including Jewish schools and synagogues being shot at or firebombed.
Data from Statistics Canada show at least 920 police-reported incidents targeting Jews in 2024, with Jewish people being 25 times more likely than others in Canada to experience hate crimes.
Bill C-9 would go further by imposing stiffer penalties on those who promote hate or obstruct access to places of worship, schools or community centres where Jews, Muslims or other identifiable groups gather. Under the proposed legislation, promoting hate would become a criminal offence punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Canada already has laws prohibiting advocacy of genocide, public incitement of hatred and the wilful promotion of hatred against an identifiable group. However, under the current Criminal Code, exemptions exist for speech made in good faith based on the interpretation of a religious text.
The Bloc Québécois agreed to support the bill only on the condition that these religious exemptions be removed. As The Living Church notes, the Bloc is a secularist party that has previously backed laws banning public prayer in the province. Amendments were made to the bill to secure the party’s support, raising concerns among Conservatives as well as some Christian and Muslim groups.
“When we start going down the road of criminalising more and more speech, we kill free speech,” Conservative MP Roman Baber, who is Jewish, said during a committee hearing.
Baber argued that removing religious defences would be more likely to criminalise faith than combat hate, and warned that ordinary Canadians should not have to fear quoting Scripture.
“I’m so tired that there is no nuance in this place,” he told the committee. “You cannot defend yourself with a religious exemption after inciting hatred or inciting violence.”
The House of Commons Justice Committee will continue reviewing the bill before it proceeds to a vote in the chamber. A date for the floor vote has reportedly not yet been scheduled.