Evangelical leaders sound alarm as Canada’s Bill C-9 removes religious speech defense

Article By Christian Today

The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC) has weighed in on the recent passing of Bill C-9, which critics say weakens free speech protections on religious matters.

Under the changes, people who make religious statements deemed controversial by others will no longer be able to use the legal defense that they spoke in “good faith.” The provisions of Bill C-9 will take effect after receiving Royal Assent.

Prior to the bill’s passage, Finnish politician Päivi Räsänen warned against any measure that could potentially limit freedom of speech, citing her own years-long legal battle in Finland over a tweet and a decades-old pamphlet.

The EFC was among a number of faith groups to raise concerns about the changes. It had been argued that the “good faith” defense should be maintained and that the bill should not be passed.

Three defenses against the willful promotion of hatred remain, namely, if a person’s statements are true, are deemed for the public benefit, or are being quoted in order to be criticized.

The EFC noted that there have been very few cases of people being charged with willfully promoting hatred, at least in part because the law requires that for a person to be guilty, they must have a clear intent of promoting hatred against an identifiable group. In addition, the law doesn’t apply to private conversations.

On those rare occasions were the law has been used, the defense of religious belief has been unsuccessful.

In response to the passing of Bill C-9, the EFC said it will “monitor the effects.”

“It is not clear what impact the removal of the religious belief defense will have over time, and whether its removal could broaden the understanding of ‘willful promotion of hatred,'” it said.

The Canadian justice minister has said that under the new bill, people will still be “able to pray, preach, teach, interpret Scripture and express religious belief in good faith, without fear of criminal sanction.”

In a statement, the EFC said, “We would welcome an approach that makes clear that the good faith practice and expression of religious belief isn’t a hate crime to begin with.”

It added, “The EFC will monitor the effects of Bill C-9 and will continue to advocate for freedom of religion and belief.”

Please follow and like us: