TORONTO — The Liberal government’s proposed anti-hate legislation has cleared its final stage in the House of Commons and will now move to the Senate for further review.Bill C-9, also known as the Combatting Hate Act, passed third reading Wednesday night with support from the Bloc Québécois. Conservative and NDP MPs voted against the legislation.The bill proposes several amendments to the Criminal Code, including the creation of new offences related to hate propaganda and hate-motivated crimes. Among its provisions is a measure that would make it a criminal offence to wilfully promote hatred against identifiable groups by displaying certain hate- or terrorism-related symbols in public.Additional provisions include new offences targeting intimidation or obstruction of access to buildings used for religious worship or by identifiable groups, as well as broader penalties for crimes found to be motivated by hatred.The legislation became politically contentious in part due to an amendment negotiated with the Bloc Québécois that would remove an existing religious exemption in Canada’s hate speech laws..Under current law, individuals may be exempt from hate speech provisions if they express opinions on religious subjects in good faith or based on religious texts. The proposed change would eliminate that exemption.Conservative MPs opposed the amendment, arguing it could infringe on religious freedom. Some Conservative critics have said the removal of the exemption could make certain passages from religious texts, including the Bible and the Quran, subject to criminal liability if interpreted as promoting hatred.Several religious organizations have also raised concerns about the potential impact of removing the exemption.Justice Minister Sean Fraser, who sponsored the bill, has said the legislation would not criminalize religious expression. He has stated the changes are intended to address harmful conduct while preserving legitimate religious discourse.The Senate will now study the bill and may propose amendments before it can receive royal assent and become law.
