The Government of Canada is preparing to eliminate religious exemptions from national laws on “hate speech”, in a legislative move that toughens the criminal framework surrounding public expression and moral convictions linked to faith.
According to National Catholic Register, the measure stems from an agreement between the Liberal Party of Canada, which leads the Government, and the Bloc Québécois, which will now support the suppression of legal protections that exempt individuals whose opinions are based on a religious doctrine or a sacred text.
Currently, Canadian legislation prohibits “inciting hatred against an identifiable group”, but allowed justifying an opinion when it was based on religious beliefs. That clause is about to disappear.
A secretly negotiated legal change
The National Post reported on December 1 that the elimination of the exemptions will appear in an upcoming legislative amendment. The newspaper cited a “high-level government source” who confirmed that “the bill is at a point where everyone is satisfied”, indicating that the political agreement has been closed away from public scrutiny.
The reform would also eliminate the requirement for the Attorney General to approve criminal proceedings related to “hate propaganda offenses”, a step that, according to opposition critics, suppresses an important institutional counterbalance.
Hate crimes are rising, but the measure aims to curtail freedoms
The Government justifies the reform by alluding to the recent increase in hate crimes, especially against the Jewish community. Data cited by B’nai Brith Canada indicate a drastic rise in antisemitic incidents following the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, and an additional surge during 2024.
The legislative bill will also explicitly prohibit displaying the Nazi swastika and the SS symbol, iconography used in attacks against Jews. Conservatives, however, emphasize that these actions are already illegal and warn that the reform serves more to lower the legal threshold for “hate” than to combat antisemitism.
The text redefines “hate” as “an emotion of detestation or vilification stronger than disdain or disgust”, a concept that—according to the opposition—opens the door to persecuting legitimate opinions, including religious ones.
The opposition denounces a direct threat to religious freedom
The Conservative Party rejects the reform, arguing that removing the Attorney General weakens procedural safeguards and criticizing what they consider a direct attack on freedom of conscience and expression.
In this context, Christian organizations have also raised their voices. The Christian Legal Fellowship, based in Ontario, called in October to maintain religious protections, arguing that these defenses are “in line with the principles of justice and equality” that underpin the fight against discrimination. The group warned that their elimination “would jeopardize the constitutional integrity” of the law.
A growing climate of distrust toward religion in Canada
The debate does not arise in a vacuum. In recent years, Canada has experienced a series of political initiatives that have raised concerns among Christian leaders. The Archbishop of Montreal, Christian Lépine, warned in September about the Quebec Government's proposal to ban prayer in public places, stating that preventing prayer would be “like banning thought itself”. Previously, in December 2024, a House of Commons committee suggested eliminating the “promotion of religion” from the list of charitable purposes recognized by the State, a measure considered a direct threat to religious freedom and the social role of faith communities.
Meanwhile, the 2021 census revealed that the country's Catholic population fell by nearly two million in the last decade, reflecting an accelerated process of secularization.
A legislative shift that could redefine public space
The possible elimination of religious protections opens an unsettling scenario: citizens, pastors, teachers, doctors, or community leaders could face sanctions for expressing traditional convictions about faith, morality, or human anthropology.
The reform aims to curb symbols of hate historically associated with Nazism, but its collateral effects could fully impact those who base their opinions on Christian doctrine. The line between combating violence and censoring conscience could become blurrier than ever.
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