Liberal-Bloc pact targets religious-text hate-speech defence

The federal Liberal government has reached an agreement with the Bloc Québécois to strip Canada’s hate-speech laws of an exemption protecting “good faith” expressions rooted in religious texts.

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The federal Liberal government has reached an agreement with the Bloc Québécois to strip Canada’s hate-speech laws of a long-standing exemption protecting “good faith” expressions rooted in religious texts, as first reported by the National Post.

The change, to be introduced as an amendment to the Criminal Code through Bill C-9 at the House of Commons justice committee, would remove a provision in Section 319 that currently prevents conviction for promoting hateful expression if the words are based on a sincerely held interpretation of a religious text.

A senior government source confirmed the deal to the National Post, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss internal negotiations.

The agreement is tied to securing Bloc support for Bill C-9, the Liberal minority government’s first major justice bill under Prime Minister Mark Carney. The legislation seeks to criminalize the public display of hate and terror symbols, including symbols tied to listed terrorist organizations, and create a new offence targeting intimidation that prevents people from accessing places of worship or community centres used by identifiable groups.

The Liberals are also expected to withdraw a separate proposal in the bill that would have removed the requirement for provincial attorneys general to approve hate-propaganda charges, after the Bloc insisted the safeguard remain in place.

The religious-text exemption did not appear in the original version of Bill C-9, but the Bloc has repeatedly pushed for its removal, arguing it has enabled antisemitic and homophobic rhetoric under the guise of faith. Quebec’s government made similar calls last year, saying the defence had been used to “legitimize discriminatory or incendiary comments.”

Civil liberties groups and Christian organizations warned that removing the exemption would undermine constitutional protections for religious expression.

In submissions to MPs, the Christian Legal Fellowship argued the defence “exists to protect Canadians against imprisonment for good faith expression of sincerely held beliefs.”

Opposition Conservatives signalled on Monday that they will fight the change in Parliament. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said the amendments would “criminalize sections of the Bible, Quran, Torah, and other sacred texts,” calling it a Liberal assault on freedom of expression and religion.

Conservative MP Roman Baber said in a separate statement that eliminating the defence amounts to an “unprecedented assault on free speech and freedom of religion.”

The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms warned that eliminating the religious-belief defence would mark a dramatic expansion of criminal-law exposure to faith communities, noting that courts have historically rejected the defence only when hatred was mixed with religious language. The group argues the exemption remains an essential constitutional safeguard, and removing it “would pave the way for criminal prosecutions against those who proclaim what their scriptures teach.”

“Without religious freedom, Canada will cease to be Canada. This must be stopped,” Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner said in response to reports of the Liberal-Bloc deal.

The justice committee had been scheduled to conduct a clause-by-clause review of the bill last week, but the meeting was delayed following a Conservative filibuster. The House is set to rise on December 12, leaving a limited window for amendments to be formally adopted before the winter recess.