By Quinton Amundson, The Catholic Register
[Canadian Catholic News] – In a 186-144 vote, the House of Commons closed debate March 10 on the controversial Bill C-9, “the Combatting Hate Act,” opening the door to remove the good faith religious speech protections in the Criminal Code.
All Liberal and Bloc Québécois MPs participating in the vote about the procedural pathway of this bill answered “yes,” while the Conservatives were joined by the NDP and Green Party MP Elizabeth May in responding “Nay.”
Now, when the Standing Committee of Justice and Human Rights next reconvenes — a meeting is slated for March 11 — the members will be ordered to swiftly vote on all remaining amendments and sub-amendments on the table. They are not authorized to adjourn until completing clause-by-clause consideration. This body has reviewed the legislation since last September.
Repealing of the good faith religious speech defence in Section 319 of the Criminal Code has attracted concerns and criticism from a large coalition of religious leaders, legal experts and civil society organizations.
Liberals Place Motion on Notice Paper to Speed up Bill C-9
The Liberals are moving forward with a motion to speed up the passage of their continuously delayed anti-hate bill, signalling the government may have run out of patience for further negotiations with the Conservatives.
A motion placed on the House notice paper this week would set a timeline for the justice committee to complete its review of Bill C-9.
If passed, it would require the committee to resume clause-by-clause consideration at its next meeting. Votes would be called on all amendments and the meeting cannot end until the bill passes review.
A report from the committee will then be required to be sent to the House “no later than two sitting days after the completion of clause-by-clause consideration,” according to the motion.
It would then be required to go through report stage and third reading in no more than one sitting day each.
The move comes after Justice Minister Sean Fraser said last month that the government was open to amendments to C-9 but was running out of patience.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the minister said the motion was needed to pass an important bill that sought to strengthen protections for religious communities.
