Bill C-9 is Now Law 

Bill C-9 – the Combating Hate Act – passed the last stage of the law-making process in Parliament on June 17. The next day, the Governor General gave the legislation royal assent, and it became the law of the land. The good faith religious defence against the crime of promoting hatred is now gone.   

What does this mean for Canadian Christians?  

What Bill C-9 Will and Will Not Do 

We do not expect to immediately see Bill C-9 used to charge people for preaching the gospel, or publicly reading controversial passages of Scripture, or explaining Christian teaching on such matters as sexual morality, marriage, or the sanctity of life. 

Consider Canada’s conversion therapy ban, which became law in 2021. That was another deeply troubling piece of hate speech legislation, which remains seriously problematic today. While it has likely impacted how people speak to questions of gender and sexuality, both publicly and privately, it has not yet resulted in any convictions. But it expressed disapproval of the biblical view of sexuality and gender as harmful.  

Thankfully, Bill C-9 left in place a fairly high bar for what constitutes the crime of wilfully promoting hatred. Through the legislative process, the definition of hatred was improved and the requirement for the Attorney General to consent before charges are laid for the wilful promotion of hatred was maintained. These are key safeguards that help keep the bar high.  

Nonetheless, the passage of Bill C-9 and the removal of the religious defence will have an impact on two key areas.  

First, it reduces the importance and value of religious expression in the law. As a result, it makes prosecutions for the public expression of religious views more feasible. A dispassionate discourse on a Christian view of marriage may be very unlikely to get someone in trouble, while forceful condemnations of homosexual behaviour or gender ideology may be more likely to.  

Our legal system is based on precedent. Expect the first prosecutions for wilfully promoting hatred by expressing a Christian ethical position to be brought against persons who do so in an especially (and perhaps needlessly) shocking, sensationalist, or offensive way. But subsequent cases might be slightly less so, and the type of speech captured by the law could expand over time. 

Second, the fact that Bill C-9 will soon be law may make many Christians around the country fearful of sharing certain truths. Christian views are often labeled as hateful, bigoted, or harmful. Now that the law fails to explicitly protect good faith religious expression, Christians may be more hesitant to defend biblical views on marriage, gender, life, or other critical public issues.  

So while Bill C-9 may not immediately send Christians to jail, all Christians should be concerned about its long-term impact.  

How Should Christians Respond to the Bill C-9 Saga? 

Thankfulness 

There is also reason to be thankful. Many Christians used this bill as an opportunity to bring a Christian witness to our civil authorities. You sent thousands of emails and letters to MPs and Senators. Hundreds showed up to a rally on Parliament Hill, and thirteen MPs stood in solidarity with us there.  

Although this political action didn’t ultimately stop the bill or reinstate the religious defence, it did generate a government response. The government re-introduced the requirement for the Attorney General to authorize any charges of hate crimes - which should help to avoid frequent or frivolous charges. And the government improved the definition of hatred from the original version of the bill, to maintain a higher bar for conviction.  

Additionally, though the government did not amend Bill C-9 to protect religious freedom, there is now dozens of hours of debate in the Parliamentary record where the government reaffirmed its support for religious freedom. Courts may consider Parliamentary debates to understand the purpose or intent behind a law.  

Share the Truth 

Christians need to continue to share the truth. Our increasingly secular culture promotes the lies that life begins only after birth, that euthanasia is a good death, and that sex is “assigned at birth”. (And there are many others.) But God’s word reveals the truth about matters of life, death, sexuality, and morality.  

These are truths that our world desperately needs to hear and that we must share. And while this legislation may discourage Christians from sharing the truth of God’s word in the public square, it shows that our politics needs more Christian witness. May our reaction to this legislation not be to quiet down but to speak up.  

Speak with Love 

But we must speak up with love. Too many of our political representatives believe that the Christian message is one of hate rather than one of love. The title, the debate, and the arguments around this legislation all keep coming back to the government’s desire to combat hateful speech in all its forms, including religious speech.  

The hallmark of the Christian life is love. God is love (1 John 4:8). We show our love for God when we keep His commandments (1 John 5:2-3). The first fruit of the Spirit is love (Galatians 5:22). And while the world may not agree with us about the content of the message of love, we must always speak in the manner of love. May our “speech always be gracious” (Colossians 4:6). May our “reasonableness be known to everyone” (Philippians 4:5). May we keep our “conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation” (1 Peter 2:12).  

Speak with Boldness 

We must also speak with boldness. Many may not want to hear the message of truth even when spoken in love. Some may even call upon our civil authorities to silence Christian points of view. May we be “strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9). “If God is for us, who can be against us… in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Romans 8:31, 37).  

Pray 

And finally, we must continue to pray, that God would equip Christians to share the Gospel as a message of hope for a broken world. God’s Word impacts all of life, and Christians must continue to address controversial issues in the public square. Pray that our government and Canadian society will increasingly see the importance of God’s Word in all areas of life.