1LoverofGod
Well-known
Liberal MPs on the House justice committee backed a Bloc Québécois proposal to remove a religious exemption from Canada’s hate speech laws — after the suggestion initially appeared to halt the government's anti-hate legislation.
The Criminal Code currently includes an exemption for hate speech, "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."
On Tuesday evening, the justice committee added a Bloc amendment to the Liberals' Bill C-9 — dubbed the Combatting Hate Act — that would remove the religious exemption.
The Conservatives oppose both the proposed amendment and the bill as written. Leader Pierre Poilievre posted on his X account last week that the Bloc amendment would "criminalize sections of the Bible, Qur'an, Torah and other sacred texts."
The Criminal Code currently includes an exemption for hate speech, "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."
On Tuesday evening, the justice committee added a Bloc amendment to the Liberals' Bill C-9 — dubbed the Combatting Hate Act — that would remove the religious exemption.
The Conservatives oppose both the proposed amendment and the bill as written. Leader Pierre Poilievre posted on his X account last week that the Bloc amendment would "criminalize sections of the Bible, Qur'an, Torah and other sacred texts."
