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A charged justice and human rights committee debate over Bill C-9, the Combatting Hate Act, will persist into 2026 as the Liberal Chair, James Maloney, suspended sittings for the rest of the year.
The house also adjourned for winter recess until Jan. 26.
Conservative MPs continued to criticize the Liberals and Bloc Québécois members for their yes vote on an amendment to strip away the religious-text defence from Section 319 (3)(b) of the Criminal Code. Many of the parliamentarians from the opposition party displayed the Holy Bible or other sacred texts on the table in front of them.
A notable exchange between Conservative MP Larry Brock and Maloney took place at the beginning of the meeting. Brock inquired if the committee would sit throughout the remainder of December and all of January before holding his Bible in his hand while saying, “the Conservatives are prepared to sit every single day, if necessary, to defend my Holy Bible and other holy books around this table.”
Maloney responded: “Mr. Brock, I’m glad you brought up the Bible. It is my Bible too. I was born, raised, and am a proud Catholic. I think everyone around this table has strong religious beliefs and shares that sentiment.”
Direct quotations from various religious leaders, civil rights bodies and legal experts, who have communicated misgivings about the revised bill, were cited throughout the meeting.
Significantly, all the Catholic, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh and Hindu voices that have raised objections about the “chilling effect” on religious speech that can be spawned by removing this safeguard also expressed that there is no room for hate and discrimination against any group in Canadian society.
The main measures this act, if it becomes law, will put into effect are criminalizing intimidation and obstruction outside of establishments used by faith-based groups and banning the intentional flaunting of “certain terrorism or hate symbols in public.”
Acquiescing to repealing the religious speech protection was the Bloc’s mandatory stipulation if the minority governing party expected their help at a third reading vote for Bill C-9.
But will that minority status remain intact? Michael Ma, elected as a Conservative MP for Markham-Unionville this past April, crossed the floor to join the Liberal Party on Dec. 11. He said, “this is a time for unity and decisive action for Canada’s future.” He joins Chris d'Entremont, who defected to the Liberals on Nov. 4. Now, with 171 seats, Prime Minister Mark Carney is one seat shy of a majority.
What this shifting membership dynamic could mean regarding the political calculus related to Bill C-9 remains to be seen.
(Amundson is a staff writer for The Catholic Register.)
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