Canada doesn’t need Bill C-9
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Over the past few weeks, I have received more correspondence about one issue than almost any other in my time as a member of Parliament. People from across my constituency, of many faiths and none at all, have reached out with deep concern about Liberal Bill C-9.
They are right to be concerned.
The Liberals claim Bill C-9: An Act to amend the Criminal Code (hate propaganda, hate crime and access to religious or cultural places) is about protecting Canadians from hate. But after carefully studying the bill, listening to expert testimony, and watching the Liberals’ actions unfold, I have come to a clear conclusion: Bill C-9 does not protect freedom. It threatens it.
At the heart of this issue is a quiet but dangerous change the Liberals, with the support of the Bloc Québécois, are now pushing through committee.
For decades, Canada’s Criminal Code has included a narrow but vital safeguard. Canadians cannot be criminally prosecuted for expressing, in good faith, an argument or opinion based on belief in a religious text. This protection is not a loophole. It is not a free pass for hatred or violence. It is a constitutional guardrail that the Supreme Court of Canada has repeatedly recognized as essential to preserving freedom of expression and freedom of religion.
Under current law, violence, calls to violence, and advocacy of genocide are already illegal. They always have been. There is no religious exemption for those acts, and there never should be. Yet now, the Liberals and Bloc are proposing to strip this safeguard from the Criminal Code entirely.
If they succeed, Canadians could face criminal prosecution, and up to two years in prison, for expressing sincerely held religious beliefs that the government finds offensive.
This is not speculation. During justice committee hearings, the Liberal chair openly questioned whether passages from the Bible and Tora – specifically Leviticus, Deuteronomy, and Romans – should be considered hateful.
He went further, stating that prosecutors should be able to press charges for their use. This same member of Parliament has since been appointed minister of Canadian identity and culture. In a free country, we debate ideas we disagree with. We do not criminalize them.
Multiple legal experts told the justice committee the same thing. The religious-text defence is narrow, carefully limited, and does not protect hatred or violence. Removing it will not make Canadians safer. It will simply give the government new power to police belief, speech, and conscience.
That is not a road Canada should ever go down.
As Conservatives, we believe in protecting people, not controlling thought. And we believe that the government has no business deciding which religious beliefs are acceptable and which are criminal.
That is why our Conservative team is fighting Bill C-9 at every stage—through committee work, public debate, petitions, and by demanding that the Justice Committee hear directly from faith-based communities across Canada.
I will continue to speak out forcefully against this legislation and to raise the voices of our region in the House of Commons. I encourage you to do the same by contacting the Minister of Justice and making your opposition known.
This assault on freedom of expression and freedom of religion cannot stand.