Minister defends religious exemption removal in anti-hate bill

Bill C-9 — dubbed the Combatting Hate Act — proposes new Criminal Code offences, including one that would make it a crime to intentionally promote hatred against identifiable groups in public using certain hate- or terrorism-related symbols.

Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet says his party has struck a deal with the Liberals to amend the Criminal Code to remove a religious exemption on hate speech, in exchange for supporting the bill.

The Criminal Code currently includes an exemption for hate speech, "if, in good faith, the person expressed or attempted to establish by an argument an opinion on a religious subject or an opinion based on a belief in a religious text."

Religious groups, including Catholics and Muslims, are speaking out against the move, saying it could criminalize religious speech.

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