Canadian lawmakers rejected a last-minute effort to stop Bill C-9, sending the amended hate-crime measure toward royal assent while critics warned it removes longstanding protections for religious expression.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Canada’s Parliament has cleared Bill C-9 after lawmakers rejected a final attempt to withdraw the legislation, setting the stage for the measure to receive royal assent and become law.
The bill, formally titled An Act to amend the Criminal Code, addresses hate propaganda, hate crime and access to religious or cultural places. Critics say the legislation threatens religious expression by removing a Criminal Code protection that has long shielded good-faith statements based on religious texts.
Conservative MP Andrew Lawton made a last-ditch effort to stop the bill “once and for all,” but a majority of MPs voted down his motion Wednesday, June 17.
“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,” Lawton wrote in an X post.
Lawton also thanked Green and NDP MPs who opposed the bill, saying resistance to the measure has come from across the political spectrum, as well as from civil liberties organizations and faith groups.
“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,” Lawton wrote.
The House vote came after the Canadian Senate recently approved Bill C-9. Because senators added a last-minute amendment related to the noose as a hate symbol, the bill had to return to the House of Commons before being sent to the Governor General for royal assent.
Senators also recently rejected a separate proposed amendment that would have criminalized “residential school denialism”.
The bill has drawn sharp criticism from some Conservative lawmakers, religious freedom advocates, pro-life organizations and legal commentators.
Conservative MP Brad Redekopp called the bill’s passage a major blow to religious liberty.
“Today is a dark day in Canadian history,” Redekopp wrote on X.
“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,” he wrote.
Opponents have focused in part on the bill’s removal of Section 319(3)(b) of Canada’s Criminal Code. That provision protects good-faith religious expression rooted in religious texts, including the Holy Bible.
Faith leaders have also raised concerns. Cardinal Frank Leo, the metropolitan archbishop of Toronto, wrote a letter to Canadian senators warning that the bill needed changes. According to a related LifeSiteNews report, Leo said the Catholic Church recognizes “the importance of addressing hatred and protecting individuals and communities from violence,” but urged revisions to protect religious freedom.
Legal critics have also warned that the bill could empower police and government officials to pursue cases involving speech deemed hateful based on emotional harm. One legal expert argued the legislation could allow punishment for hurting someone’s feelings in a hateful way.
Bill C-9 was introduced by Justice Minister Sean Fraser last year.
Campaign Life Coalition also criticized the bill after its Senate passage. In an X post, the organization said “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.
Supporters of the legislation have framed it as an effort to strengthen criminal law protections against hate propaganda, hate crimes and interference with access to religious or cultural places. Opponents argue that the removal of the religious-expression defense creates new risks for Canadians who quote or express traditional religious teachings on controversial moral issues.
With the House rejecting Lawton’s motion and approving the Senate amendment, Bill C-9 is now positioned to become law once it receives royal assent.
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