Bill C-9: CCCC Testifies Before Senate Committee on Human Rights

Last week, CCCC’s Director of Legal Affairs appeared as a witness before the Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights to speak about Bill C-9, the Combatting Hate Act.

Bill C-9 does a number of things:

1. It creates 4 new offences:
   • Hate crime offence where any other federal offence that is committed is motivated by hatred;
   • Wilful promotion of hatred offence through displays of terrorism and hate sybmols;
   • Obstruction offence for interfering with access to certain buildings.
   • Intimidation offence for provoking a state of fear in order to impede access to certain places.
2. It removes the good faith religious opinion defence;
3. It adds a definition of “hatred” to the Criminal Code;
4. It adds a “for greater certainty” clause to the Criminal Code.

CCCC urged the Committee to:

1. Examine existing Criminal Code offences before adding new offences – what works, what does not, and why or why not?
2. Reinstate the good faith religious opinion defence.
3. Amend the new “for greater certainty” clause to ensure it actually provides certainty, and include it in the text of the Criminal Code, not just in Bill C-9, using the text as proposed by Christian Legal Fellowship.

You can watch CCCC testimony before the Committee here:

Questions and answers with the Committee begin at 16:23:45 in the full recording. CCCC also submitted a written brief to the Committee, outlining concerns and recommendations in greater detail, which you can read at the end of this post.

Senate Committee Review

Following witness testimony, the Committee completed a line-by-line review of Bill C-9. During this type of review, Senators can propose changes before the legislation goes back to the Senate for a vote.

In its review of Bill C-9, Senators:

• Proposed an amendment to restore the good faith religious defence – it was defeated.
• Proposed an amendment to limit the scope of the new standalone (or “add-on”) hate crime offence to Criminal Code offences – it was defeated. The new hate crime will apply to any existing Criminal Code offence or offence under other Acts of Parliament where the underlying offence is motivated by hate.
• Proposed an amendment to add residential school denialism as a hate crime – it was passed.
• Did not propose an amendment to improve the “for greater certainty” clause.

Senate Committee Review Differed from Senate Debate

Before Bill C-9 went to Committee, the Senate debate at second reading focused on how Bill C-9 would operate in relation to existing laws, and how it could significantly impact the constitutional foundation of the existing Criminal Code offences.

Importantly, and as CCCC urged MPs and Senators to consider, the question was raised about whether new offences should even be created, or whether the issue is really one of enforcing existing law.

In terms of the good-faith religious defence, at least one Senator explained how the Supreme Court in R v. Keegstra found that the crime of wilful promotion of hatred infringed freedom of expression; however, the existence of defences in s 319(3), including the good faith religious defence, sufficiently protected expression, and ensured the offence was constitutionally justified.

What is Next for Bill C-9?

After bills are studied by a Senate Committee, the Committee prepares a Report for the full Senate with recommendations and any changes passed by majority vote in Committee. The Report will be sent to the Senate for a vote by all Senators. If the Report is adopted, the third reading will begin. If the Report is rejected, the bill will be defeated.

What You Can Do

Even though the Senate Committee did not propose changes recommended by CCCC and many other religious and civil liberties organizations, there is still an opportunity to express your concern to Senators from your region. We will continue to provide updates on Bill C-9 as it goes back to the Senate for report stage, third reading, and a vote. If you have questions or would like support, please contact our Member Support Team by phone or email.