In a 186-144 vote, the House of Commons today closed debate on the controversial Bill C-9, the Combatting Hate Act, opening the door to remove the good faith religious speech protections in the Criminal Code.

All Liberal and Bloc Québécois MPs participating in the vote about the procedural pathway of this bill answered “yes,” while the Conservatives were joined by the NDP and Green Party MP Elizabeth May in responding “Nay.”

Now, when the Standing Committee of Justice and Human Rights next reconvenes — a meeting is slated for March 11 starting at 4:30 p.m. EST — the members will be ordered to swiftly vote on all remaining amendments and subamendments on the table. They are not authorized to adjourn until completing clause-by-clause consideration. This body has reviewed the legislation since last September.

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Repealing of the good faith religious speech defence in Section 319 of the Criminal Code has attracted concerns and criticism from a large coalition of religious leaders, legal experts and civil society organizations.

The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), Toronto Cardinal Frank Leo and the Catholic Civil Rights League (CCRL) are among the major Catholic entities and figures who have published major statements against the bill. In Leo’s words, 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.”

If the committee does conclude its work on March 11, Bill C-9 could move to the report stage in the House of Commons the following day, according to the motion tabled by Government House Leader Stephen MacKinnon. With just one sitting day allotted for the report stage and one for third reading, the bill could advance to the Senate as early as March 13. It is probable that the governing party will move on this accelerated timeline as Parliament will recess from March 16-20.

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Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada Sean Fraser tabled this bill, of which the main tenets are “criminalize intimidation and obstruction outside of establishments used by faith-based groups and ban certain terror or hate symbols in public.” He admitted that “limitation of debate is not normally the approach I like to take,” but did so because progress on the bill is “being obstructed and filibustered by the Conservatives.”

Fraser also spoke about his engagement with religious groups over the holidays and expressed his willingness to address their “substantive objections” through changes to the text of the bill.  

There was an amendment introduced during a Feb. 23 committee meeting from Parliamentary Secretary Patricia Lattanzio that reads: “nothing in subsection 319(2) or (2.2) shall be construed as prohibiting a person from communicating a statement on a matter of public interest, including an educational, religious, political or scientific statement made in the course of a discussion, publication or debate, if they do not willfully promote hatred, hatred against an identifiable group by communicating the statement.”

However, Phil Horgan of the CCRL and Derek Ross of the Christian Legal Fellowship both recently informed The Catholic Register that the protections for good faith religious expression are still not communicated clearly within the text of the amendment.

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Horgan suggested the uncertainty could “leave open the possibility of a charge if the Crown is of the view that a discussion of certain religious texts is not in the public interest, and in the absence of the good faith religious defence, a pastor or faith leader would be at the peril of a charge.”

The public campaign against Bill C-9 is also continuing during this pivotal week. The Christian political organization ARPA Canada is hosting a Parliament Hill rally on March 12 starting at 11:45 EST.