Canada bill C-9: when quoting the Bible may become a hate crime
Canada Bill C-9 has passed both chambers and is one signature away from becoming law.
On June 4, 2026, Canadian senators voted 45 to 13 to pass Bill C-9, the Combatting Hate Act.
The bill now returns to the House of Commons for a final confirmation vote on Senate amendments, after which it goes to the Governor General for Royal Assent. At that point it becomes law.
Bill C-9 was introduced on September 19, 2025 by Liberal Justice Minister Sean Fraser — a member of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s governing Liberal Party.
The bill passed the House of Commons on March 25, 2026 by a vote of 188 to 144, with Conservatives and the NDP both voting against it.
Only Liberal support, combined with the Bloc Quebecois, pushed it through.
On paper, Bill C-9 sounds reasonable. It strengthens penalties for hate crimes, protects access to places of worship, and targets terrorism-related hate symbols.
But two specific provisions have set off alarm bells across every major faith community in Canada.
First, the bill removes Section 319(3)(b) of the Criminal Code — the “good faith” religious defense that has protected sincere Bible-based teaching since the hate speech provisions were first created in the 1970s.
That protection specifically shielded people who, in good faith, expressed views on a religious subject or based their statements on a religious text. It is now gone.
Second, the bill removes the requirement for Attorney General consent before police can lay hate propaganda charges.
Previously, a government official had to approve any prosecution before it began.
Now private individuals and activist groups can file complaints directly, triggering police investigations and prosecutions without that safeguard.
Justice Minister Fraser insisted: “Canadians will always be able to pray, preach, teach, interpret scripture, and express religious belief in good faith, without fear of criminal sanction.”
Conservative MP Dane Lloyd responded directly: “Bill C-9 makes it easier for people of faith and others to be criminally charged because of views that other people take offense to. The bill weakens protections for freedom of expression and freedom of religion.”
What the churches said — and why hundreds of thousands spoke up
The opposition from faith communities was broad, sustained, and unprecedented in its unity.
Cardinal Frank Leo, Metropolitan Archbishop of Toronto, wrote personally to every Canadian senator on March 27, 2026, warning that the bill created serious threats to religious freedom.
The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops issued multiple statements condemning the removal of the religious defence.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Canada Area Presidency stated: “We invite all Canadians of goodwill to uphold respect for freedom of conscience and its related freedoms of religion and belief.”
Jewish groups, Muslim organizations, and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association all joined the chorus of concern.
Senator Yonah Martin introduced a motion to restore the 56-year-old religious speech defence. It was defeated 4-3 in committee on June 1.
The religious protection that has stood since the 1970s was killed by a single vote in a Senate committee.
Hundreds of thousands of Canadians signed petitions. Parliament did not listen.
It is already happening — three real cases before the law even passes
This is not theoretical. Canada was already prosecuting Christians before Bill C-9 became law. These cases show exactly what happens when the legal process becomes the punishment.
Pastor Derek Reimer, Calgary, Alberta. In February 2023, Reimer attended a “Reading with Royalty” drag queen story hour at the Seton branch of the Calgary Public Library and protested the event involving children.
He later posted a video online identifying the library manager and asking his community to voice concerns.
A 90-second conversation with that manager led to a criminal harassment conviction.
A court then ordered him to write a formal letter of apology to the library manager for “hurting her feelings.”
Reimer refused, calling it compelled speech that violated his biblical beliefs.
On December 3, 2025, he was arrested and jailed for that refusal.
He had previously been convicted of causing a disturbance, placed under house arrest, and subjected to conditions including a 200-metre exclusion zone.
In May 2025 he was arrested again — for holding a church prayer service outside a courthouse before his own trial.
His ministry, Mission7, serves the homeless and addicted in Calgary.
Pastor Artur Pawlowski, Calgary, Alberta. Pawlowski became internationally known during the COVID-19 pandemic for keeping his church open in defiance of provincial lockdown orders.
He was arrested repeatedly, charged multiple times, and spent 51 days in solitary confinement.
He told The Christian Post: “These people are sick in the head. They’re demon-possessed. They’re wicked, evil minions of Satan” — words he spoke from a Calgary courthouse where he was supporting Pastor Reimer at a bail hearing.
Pawlowski has faced so many criminal charges from Canadian authorities that he says he has lost count.
His “crime” was consistent: refusing to close his church doors to the poor and homeless during a government-declared emergency.
Street Preachers Steven Ravbar and Matthew Carapella, British Columbia.
Known as the “London Street Preachers,” the two men faced incidents in November 2024 and were formally charged on July 24, 2025 with two counts of mischief “motivated by bias, prejudice or hate based on sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression” — a hate-crime enhancement under the Criminal Code.
Their case illustrates precisely what critics fear most about Bill C-9: that the hate-crime framework will be used to target public Christian proclamation, not just violent extremism.
The Western pattern — and why Canada must not go further
Canada is not alone.
In Finland, Paivi Rasanen, a grandmother and former Interior Minister, was prosecuted for quoting the New Testament in a tweet criticizing her church’s participation in LGBT Pride events — charges dropped only after years of legal battle.
In Spain, a bishop was investigated for criticizing a proposed ban on conversion therapy.
In Malta, a Christian man faced jail for sharing his personal testimony of leaving homosexuality — acquitted after a three-year ordeal.
But the most chilling recent example came from the United Kingdom, where local ordinances in buffer zones around abortion clinics have been used to arrest people for praying silently — not speaking, not holding signs, not blocking anyone.
Simply standing and praying in silence. This law applies even for people praying in their home, if they happen to live in the wrong place.
Vice President JD Vance addressed this directly at the Munich Security Conference in February 2025, calling out the criminalization of silent prayer as a sign that Europe had lost its way on fundamental freedoms.
Now Canada is walking the same road.
Bill C-9 is the Canadian version of this Western pattern. And like every law in this category, it sounds protective on paper.
The danger is not the text. The danger is the application, the complaints, the investigations, the legal fees, the public smears, and the chilling effect on every pastor, every teacher, and every Christian who must now consult a lawyer before quoting Romans 1.
Canada Bill C-9 is one signature away from becoming law.
The church must not be silent. 🙏 ✝️ 🇨🇦 #CanadaBillC9 #ReligiousFreedom #PrayForCanada
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In reply to @DavidJHarrisJr https://x.com/DavidJHarrisJr/status/2063293996697366900?s=20
