The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada has weighed in on the recent passing of the controversial Bill C-9, which critics say weakens free speech protections on religious matters.
Under the changes, people who make potentially controversial religious statements will no longer be able to use the legal defence that they spoke in “good faith”. The provisions of Bill C-9 will take effect after receiving Royal Assent.
Prior to the bill’s passage, Finnish politician Päivi Räsänen warned against any measure that could potentially limit freedom of speech, citing her own years-long legal battle in Finland over a tweet and a decades old pamphlet.
The EFC was one of a number of faith groups to raise concerns about the changes. It had argued that the “good faith” defence should be maintained and that the bill should not be passed.
Three defences against the wilful promotion of hatred remain, namely if a person’s statements are true, are deemed for the public benefit, or are being quoted in order to be criticised.
The EFC noted that there have been very few cases of people being charged with wilfully promoting hatred, at least in part because the law requires that for a person to be guilty they must have a clear intent of promoting hatred against an identifiable group. In addition the law does not apply to private conversations.
On those rare occasions were the law has been used, the defence of religious belief has been unsuccessful.
In response to the passing of Bill C-9, the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC) said it will “monitor the effects”.
“It is not clear what impact the removal of the religious belief defence will have over time, and whether its removal could broaden the understanding of ‘wilful promotion of hatred,'” it said.
The Canadian justice minister has said that under the new bill people will still be “able to pray, preach, teach, interpret Scripture and express religious belief in good faith, without fear of criminal sanction”.
In a statement, the EFC said, “We would welcome an approach that makes clear that the good faith practice and expression of religious belief isn’t a hate crime to begin with.”
It added, “The EFC will monitor the effects of Bill C-9 and will continue to advocate for freedom of religion and belief.”