Canadian House of Commons passes 'hate speech' bill that would remove religious protections

A bill that critics warn would eliminate key religious protections from criminal bans on acts of “hatred” has passed the Canadian House of Commons, prompting concerns from religious freedom advocates.

Canada’s House of Commons passed the measure, called the “Combatting Hate Act,” Wednesday. The House of Commons approved the legislation in a 186-137 vote that fell along party lines. All opposition to the bill came from the Conservative, New Democratic and Green parties, while all support for the legislation came from the Liberal and Bloc Québécois parties.

The “Combatting Hate Act,” also known as Bill C-09, declares that “Everyone who commits an offence — referred to in this section as the ‘included offence’ — under this Act or any other Act of Parliament, if the commission of the included offence is motivated by hatred based on race, national or ethnic origin, language, colour, religion, sex, age, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation or gender identity or expression” is either “guilty of an indictable offence” or “guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction.”