A religious freedom advocate warns that a proposed Canadian law could endanger free speech and religious freedom.
Hear them in the latest episode of “Quick Start”
Jeff King, president of International Christian Concern (ICC), a religious persecution watchdog, told CBN News that Bill C-367 “amends the criminal code and removes certain religious exemptions that protected Christians” .
King compared the proposal to the Equality Act, U.S. legislation that the Biden administration championed but failed to pass.
The American bill sought to prohibit “discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation and gender identity in areas such as public accommodations and facilities, education, federal funding, employment, housing, credit and the system of jury,” but has raised concerns about religious persecution.
Similarly, Canada’s Bill C-367, King said, would create potential problems for people making biblical claims or basing their objections on certain questions about the Quran or other religious sentiments.
With these protections potentially in jeopardy, King said the potential impact could create dynamics similar to those seen in more restrictive and despotic countries.
“This is what dictators and despots do abroad to stifle Christianity or any other faith,” he said. “They say, ‘Oh, we have religious freedom, but not in the public sphere.’ So it’s the same game.”
Watch King explain:
King said hate speech laws are “always promoted…for the common good,” but he said such provisions tend to be “divisive.”
He explained that hate speech laws were passed in Canada in 2003 and 2004 with protections, but warned that those reservations are now potentially on the verge of being jeopardized.
“Democracy means you have freedom of speech,” King said. “It’s the marketplace of ideas. Everyone should be able to express their opinion, whether it’s good, bad or stupid. »
He said what’s “alarming” about the current battle over Bill C-367 is that many people aren’t aware of it. King warned that such provisions were “adopted quietly” and in the hope that “no one would notice.” This is why he and ICC are sounding the alarm on this issue.
“If you’re left-wing, if you’re right-wing, if you’re atheist, Muslim, it doesn’t matter,” King said. “Anyone who is in favor of freedom, which is such a precious and relatively new thing in history… it must be protected… there are always those who are ready to take it away.”
King is one of those who spoke out most in the debate on Bill C-367.
A description of the proposal reads as follows: “This text amends the Criminal Code in order to eliminate as a means of defense against the deliberate fomenting of hatred or anti-Semitism the fact that a person, in good faith, has expressed or attempted to establish by an argument a opinion on a religious subject or an opinion based on a religious subject. belief in a religious text.
This amendment would repeal paragraphs 319(3)(b) and 319(3.1)(b) of the Criminal Code. Article 319 (2) of the Penal Code currently contains an article on “deliberate promotion of hatred”. THE the text reads:
“Any person who, by communicating statements, other than in private conversation, knowingly promotes hatred against any identifiable group is guilty of:
(a) a criminal act punishable by imprisonment of up to two years; Or
(b) an offense punishable on summary conviction.
Currently, religious protections are linked to this provision. Section 319(3)(b) states that no person will be convicted of an offense under section 319(2) if “in good faith, the person has expressed or attempted to establish by argument an opinion on a religious matter or an opinion based on a religious subject. on a belief in a religious text.
A similar line exists in paragraph 319(3.1)(b) when it comes to a provision on anti-Semitism.
It appears that Bill C-367 has been stalled and not progressed, leading to Bill C-373, a proposal introduced more recently for the same purpose. Both proposals have an identical summary and aim for the same repeal objectives, with the latter being introduced and read on February 5, 2024.
While King and others sound the alarm, some say the concerns of Christians and their advocates are unfounded. Learn more about the story here.
