Liberal MPs on the justice and human rights committee voted Tuesday evening to approve a controversial Bloc Québécois amendment to Bill C-9 that removes the religious speech defence from Canada’s hate speech law.

If the revised Combatting Hate Act becomes law, Section 319(3)(b) of the Criminal Code will be expunged. The current exemption protects a person referring to religious texts, stating: “if, in good faith, the person expressed or attempted to establish by an argument an opinion on a religious subject or an opinion based on a belief in a religious text.”

After Liberal chair James Maloney abruptly ended a Dec. 3 meeting and cancelled the Dec. 4 session to let MPs “regroup,” the committee held an eight-hour clause-by-clause review on Dec. 9. Predominantly, the proposed law criminalizes intimidation and obstruction outside of establishments used by faith-based groups and forbids the intentional flaunting of “certain terrorism or hate symbols in public.”

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Bloc MP Rhéal Éloi Fortin tabled the amendment, which party leader Yves-François Blanchet had made a condition for his party’s support at third reading in the minority Parliament. Fortin claimed the exemption could lead to a situation in which “someone could commit actions or say things that would otherwise be forbidden under the Criminal Code.”

Conservative MP Larry Brock noted that Minister of Justice and Attorney General Sean Fraser and his team had not even considered removing the religious text provision during the drafting phase of Bill C-9.

“It is clear the Liberals will do whatever it takes to pass this even though (the amendment) wasn’t their idea,” said Brock. “It wasn’t their intention two years ago. It was never their intention during the hearing from the numerous witnesses we heard until it became abundantly clear they would be going into a winter break without the passage of Minister Fraser’s signature piece of criminal legislation.”

Fraser asserted during a press conference earlier in the day that freedom of religion will not be harmed, as it is a protected Charter right.

“The amendment that the Bloc is proposing will … in no way, shape or form prevents a religious leader from reading their religious texts,” said Fraser. “It will not criminalize faith.”

His claim garnered scrutiny from multiple Conservative MPs, including Garnett Genuis.

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“(It’s) as if the existence of the Charter establishes some law of physics, which prevents legislation from passing that violates it,” said Genius. “That’s not how the Charter works. The way the Charter and constitutional protections on religious freedom and other rights work is that laws can still be passed to violate those rights, and those laws are enforced until they’re struck down — until a judicial process intervenes."

Fraser pledged in a statement on his X account that he intends to meet with concerned groups to assure them that “good-faith religious expression will remain fully protected.”

This could prove to be a lengthy process as the bill has drawn criticism from prominent Catholic, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh and Hindu voices, along with dozens of civil rights groups and legal experts.

Notably, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) and Toronto Cardinal Frank Leo have issued letters expressing concern about the potential removal of the religious-text guardrail. Both the CCCB and Leo denounced hate and discrimination in all its forms, but worried, in the Cardinal’s words, that the stripping of this exemption creates “uncertainty for clergy, educators and all people of faith who seek to pass on the teachings of the Church with charity and integrity.”

Now, the Catholic Civil Rights League (CCRL) is weighing in with trepidations about the Liberal-Bloc agreement.

“The CCRL deplores expressions of hate or anti-Semitism, but our concerns extend to religious expressions which may be opposed despite being based on Church teachings on sexual morality,” stated the league.

Additionally, the CCRL highlighted the already existing provision in Bill C-9 that repeals the safeguard of requiring the Attorney General's consent for instituting proceedings for hate propaganda offences. The organization declared that this “will likely result in spurious or targeted attacks on individuals expressing Christian moral teachings.”  

In solidarity with the CCCB, the CCRL also finds these “developments may create a climate of fear for good faith expressions of religious belief and expose Church and faith leaders to criminal charges by anyone seeking to pursue a charge to advance a non-religious viewpoint.”

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On the heels of the controversial revision being approved, Conservative MP Andrew Lawton immediately introduced an amendment of his own that states “nothing in this section is to be interpreted or applied to interfere with the freedom of expression or freedom of religion.”

A vote could potentially occur during one of the forthcoming committee meetings. While no details have yet been posted on the House of Commons website, another marathon clause-by-clause review session of Bill C-9 is expected to be scheduled for this afternoon.