Are MPs Targeting Religious Freedom?
In a Justice Committee hearing at the end of October, Member of Parliament and Committee Chair Marc Miller stated: “In Leviticus, Deuteronomy and Romans, there are passages with clear hatred towards, for example, homosexuals. I don’t understand how the concept of good faith could be invoked if someone were literally invoking a passage from, in this case, the Bible, though there are other religious texts that say the same thing.” The Committee was discussing the crime of wilfully promoting hatred and, more specifically, the good faith religious argument defence to that crime. This was part of a broader discussion about Bill C-9, the government’s Combatting Hate Act.
Bill C-9 is a government bill. Recently, the National Post reported that the Liberal government had agreed to support a proposed Bloc Quebecois amendment that would remove the good faith religious defence to the crime of wilfully promoting hatred. That amendment has not yet been discussed at the Justice Committee.
The Bloc Quebecois MP encouraging this amendment repeatedly referred to the non-prosecution of a Montreal Imam, who had publicly prayed that Allah would exterminate all Zionists, as a reason to get rid of the religious defence. Arguably, the Imam’s prayer was a veiled call for Muslims to engage in violence against Jews.
Does the religious defence allow people to get away with calling for violence in the name of religion? No. There is no religious defence in Canada’s criminal law to advocating genocide or terrorism, uttering threats, inciting hatred in a manner likely to lead to a breach of the peace, or counselling someone to commit assault or any other offence. The religious defence only limits the broader and potentially more unwieldy and imprecise offence of wilfully promoting hatred.
The religious defence is also limited by the requirement that the opinion be expressed in good faith. That means the person making the statement must be sincerely trying to discern and articulate a religious truth. If the motive is to promote hatred and disguise this with religious language or by citing religious texts, the defence is not available.
Why Does the Religious Defence Matter?
The religious defence is an important safeguard against the abuse of the hate propaganda offence. It ensures that Canadians can wrestle with religious questions and religious texts and share and debate their beliefs. It also allows people to confront and criticize teachings within their own or other faith traditions. There are appropriate limits to freedom of expression in Canada, but when it comes to religious beliefs, Canadians must be permitted to disagree, to debate, and to discern religious truth.
As Christine Van Geyn argues in the National Post, “It’s dangerous for politicians to believe they can use statutes to sanitize scripture they don’t even properly understand. Criminal law is the state’s most violent instrument. It should not be swung at the human soul.” Religious freedom is core to Canadian law. The idea of removing the religious defence reflects the proud belief that modern sensibilities of what is right or wrong trump religious beliefs held for thousands of years.
What difference will it make?
This amendment, if passed, will not criminalize the Bible or passages from the Bible as such. No one is proposing to ban the Bible or parts of it.
But it would make it easier to prosecute Christians for publicly declaring biblical truths regarding issues of morality and identity – truths which many people claim are both hateful and hate-promoting. Removing the good faith religious defence may discourage some Christians from citing certain parts of Scripture or defending biblical principles in public dialogue.
Although we have other concerns with the Combatting Hate Act, this proposed amendment is the most troubling. Send an EasyMail to your MP and to members of the Committee on Justice and Human Rights to ask them to oppose this amendment.
