Conservative MP Andrew Lawton attempted to call the House of Commons Heritage Committee to study crimes targeting religious institutions, such as church burnings and synagogue shootings, but was blocked by the committee’s Liberal and Bloc MPs.
During the House of Commons Heritage Committee on Thursday, Liberal MP and committee chair Lisa Hepfner declared Lawton’s motion to begin a study on crimes against religious institutions in Canada to be outside the committee’s scope. Her ruling was supported by the Bloc and Liberal MPs, who formed a majority on the committee.
Following the failed motion to begin the study, Lawton put forward another motion to have the committee “recognize that faith and religion are integral to Canadian history, culture, traditions and national identity” and to report their vote to the House of Commons.
The Liberals, however, also moved to block such a vote from reaching the House of Commons for members to review and vote on, including Prime Minister Mark Carney.
