Canada’s Parliament officially passes ‘Bible ban’ Bill C-9
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Canada’s House rejected a final attempt to stop Bill C-9, which threatens to criminalize quoting the Bible, including on homosexuality.
(LifeSiteNews) — A final attempt to stop Bill C-9 was defeated, meaning that the bill, which threatens to criminalize quoting parts of the Bible, including on homosexuality, has officially passed Canada’s Parliament and will soon become law.
On Wednesday, June 17, a majority of MPs voted down an attempt by Conservative MP Andrew Lawton to stop Bill C-9 “once and for all.”
“The Liberals and Bloc Québécois voted down my motion to withdraw the divisive and toxic Bill C-9 to stand up for freedom of expression and freedom of religion,” wrote Lawton in an X post.
Lawton thanked Green and NDP MPs for voting in opposition to Bill C-9, noting that “opposition to this bill has come from the political left and right, from civil liberties groups and a range of faith organizations.”
“With the adoption of the Senate’s amendment criminalizing the noose as a hate symbol, Bill C-9 will soon receive royal assent and become law.”
As reported by LifeSiteNews, Canadian senators voted recently to approve the Liberals’ Bill C-9 or “An Act to amend the Criminal Code (hate propaganda, hate crime, and access to religious or cultural places).”
However, because the last-minute amendment adding the noose was made, the bill had to go back to the House of Commons before it was sent to the Governor General for Royal Assent to become law.
As reported by LifeSiteNews, Canadian senators last week voted down a recent proposed amendment to Bill C-9 that would have criminalized “residential school denialism.”
A ‘dark day’ for Christians
One Conservative MP, Brad Redekopp, called the official passage of Bill C-9 a “dark day” for Canada and religious freedom and an “assault” on faith.
“Today is a dark day in Canadian history,” wrote Redekopp in an X post.
“The House has passed Bill C-9—an assault on religious freedom that removes longstanding protections for Canadians expressing sincerely held beliefs. Conservatives fought this bill every step of the way—and we will keep fighting until religious freedom is restored.”
Canadian pro-life and faith groups, as well as a Catholic cardinal, sounded the alarm over the legislation. Indeed, in a recent letter to Canadian senators, Cardinal Frank Leo, the metropolitan archbishop of Toronto, said that while the Catholic Church recognizes “the importance of addressing hatred and protecting individuals and communities from violence,” changes are needed to the bill.
Constitutional experts have blasted the bill, saying that it will allow empowered police and the government to go after those deemed to have violated a person’s “feelings” in a “hateful” way. The bill was introduced by Justice Minister Sean Fraser last year.
Specifically, Bill C-9 would remove Section 319(3)(b) of Canada’s Criminal Code.
This section protects the good-faith expression of a person’s religious views based on religious texts such as the Holy Bible.
Campaign Life Coalition (CLC) previously blasted the passage of Bill C-9 in the Senate, saying that “God will not be mocked.”
“This is a dark day for religious freedom and free speech in Canada,” said Jeff Gunnarson, national president of CLC.