An Act to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act (protecting against discrimination based on political belief)

Sponsor

Garnett Genuis  Conservative

Introduced as a private member’s bill. (These don’t often become law.)

Status

Outside the Order of Precedence (a private member's bill that hasn't yet won the draw that determines which private member's bills can be debated), as of March 3, 2022

Subscribe to a feed (what's a feed?) of speeches and votes in the House related to Bill C-257.

Summary

This is from the published bill. The Library of Parliament often publishes better independent summaries.

This enactment amends the Canadian Human Rights Act to add political belief and political activity to the list of prohibited grounds of discrimination.

Elsewhere

All sorts of information on this bill is available at LEGISinfo, an excellent resource from the Library of Parliament. You can also read the full text of the bill.

Freedom of Political ExpressionPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

February 26th, 2024 / 3:35 p.m.
See context

Conservative

Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB

Madam Speaker, the next petition is in support of a private member's bill, Bill C-257, which would add political belief and activity as prohibited grounds of discrimination to the Canadian Human Rights Act.

The petitioners note that Canadians should be free from political discrimination. This reflects a broad opposition to Canadians facing arbitrary discrimination; protection from political discrimination also ensures that Canadians will be able to express themselves on important issues of the day without fear of employment or other reprisals. Therefore, the petitioners call on the House to support Bill C-257.

Freedom of Political ExpressionPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

February 12th, 2024 / 4:05 p.m.
See context

Conservative

Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB

Madam Speaker, next I am pleased to present a petition in support of a Conservative private member's bill, Bill C-257, which would add political belief or activity to the Canadian Human Rights Act as a prohibited grounds of discrimination.

The petitioners identify that all Canadians have a right to be protected against freedom from discrimination, that many Canadians face political discrimination or discrimination on the basis of political belief or activity, and that it is a fundamental right to be politically active and vote without fear of reprisal. They say that it is in the best interest of Canadian democracy to protect public debate and the exchange of different ideas.

As Bill C-257 would add this additional language to the Canadian Human Rights Act, it would protect people from political discrimination and create an environment where people can feel free to express themselves on important issues of the day without fear of reprisal.

Therefore, the petitioners ask the House to support Bill C-257 and defend the rights of Canadians to peacefully express their political opinions.

Freedom of Political ExpressionPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

February 8th, 2024 / 10:15 a.m.
See context

Conservative

Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB

Madam Speaker, the next petition is in support of an excellent private member's bill I put forward, Bill C-257. This bill would add political belief and activity as prohibited grounds of discrimination in the Canadian Human Rights Act.

Petitioners note that Canadians should be protected from discrimination, including political discrimination, and that it is a fundamental Canadian right to be politically active and vocal. Further, they note our democracy is well served by ensuring people feel the freedom to express themselves politically without worry about employment-related or other reprisal based on their political views.

The petition asks the House to support Bill C-257 and to defend the rights of Canadians to peacefully express their political opinions.

Freedom of ExpressionPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

February 5th, 2024 / 3:55 p.m.
See context

Conservative

Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB

Mr. Speaker, my second petition is in support of a private member's bill, Bill C-257, that would add political belief and activity as prohibited grounds of discrimination to the Canadian Human Rights Act. There are prohibitions on discrimination of various kinds in federal jurisdiction, but no such prohibition on discrimination on the basis of political belief or activity. The petitioners note that it is a fundamental Canadian right to be politically active and vocal, and also that protecting this right benefits our democracy and leads to great vitality in our public debates.

The petitioners want the House to support Bill C-257.

Freedom of Political ExpressionPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

January 30th, 2024 / 10:20 a.m.
See context

Conservative

Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB

Mr. Speaker, the next petition I am tabling is in favour of an excellent private member's bill put forward by the member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan.

This is a bill that would add political belief and activity as prohibited grounds of discrimination to the Canadian Human Rights Act, and it would protect the ability of people with diverse political opinions to be able to express those opinions and to speak out about their ideas without fear of reprisal in an employment or other context if they work in the federally regulated sector.

The petitioners are asking the House to support Bill C-257. The petitioners want the government to defend the rights of Canadians to peacefully express their political opinions.

Freedom of Political ExpressionPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

December 12th, 2023 / 10:20 a.m.
See context

Conservative

Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB

Madam Speaker, I have a number of petitions to present to the House today.

The first is from some great people from Skeena—Bulkley Valley. I want to thank them for signing this petition in support of Bill C-257. It is a private member's bill put forward by me in the House to combat political discrimination.

Petitioners note that it should be a protected right in Canada to be free from discrimination on the basis of political views, yet there is no such protection in the Canadian Human Rights Act. They support this bill, which would add political belief and activity to the Canadian Human Rights Act as prohibited grounds of discrimination.

Freedom of Political ExpressionPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

December 12th, 2023 / 10:15 a.m.
See context

Conservative

Rosemarie Falk Conservative Battlefords—Lloydminster, SK

Madam Speaker, my next petition is with regard to Canadians having the right to be protected against discrimination. Canadians can and do face political discrimination, but it is a fundamental Canadian right to be politically active and vocal.

It is in the best interest of Canadian democracy to protect public debate and the exchange of differing ideas. Bill C-257 seeks to add protection against political discrimination to the Canadian Human Rights Act.

Freedom of Political ExpressionPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

November 20th, 2023 / 3:55 p.m.
See context

Conservative

Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB

Madam Speaker, I have a small number of petitions to table before the House today.

The first petition is in support of a private member's bill tabled by me, so I want to commend the initiative of the petitioners in getting this petition to the House today. It is an excellent bill they are seeking to support.

Bill C-257 seeks to end political discrimination in Canada, especially in areas of federal jurisdiction. The petitioners say that Canadians have a right to be protected against discrimination on the basis of their political views, that being politically active is a fundamental right and that it strengthens their democracy when people are able to freely express their views without fear of employment or other such consequences.

The bill would add political belief and activity as prohibited grounds of discrimination in the Canadian Human Rights Act. The petitioners ask the House to support Bill C-257.

Freedom of Political ExpressionPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

November 9th, 2023 / 10:30 a.m.
See context

Conservative

Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB

Madam Speaker, the next petition expresses support for a private member's bill, Bill C-257, which would add political belief and activity as prohibited grounds for discrimination to the Canadian Human Rights Act.

Petitioners know how fundamental and important the free exchange of ideas is in a democracy and that discrimination on the basis of political beliefs and threats to employment and the like, against those whose political beliefs an employer or others may disagree with, undermine the free exchange of ideas.

Bill C-257 seeks to remedy that. Petitioners ask the House to support Bill C-257 and to defend the rights of all Canadians to peacefully express their political opinions.

Freedom of Political ExpressionPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

November 7th, 2023 / 10:15 a.m.
See context

Conservative

Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB

Madam Speaker, the next petition I am tabling is in support of Bill C-257. This is a private member's bill I have put forward that would add political belief and activity to prohibited grounds of discrimination in the Canadian Human Rights Act.

The petitioners say that it is in the best interests of Canadian democracy to have a free public exchange of ideas, to protect the political speech of those with different points of view and to protect them from the possibility of discrimination or punishment for their perspectives.

The petitioners ask the House to support Bill C-257 and to defend the rights of Canadians to peacefully express their political opinions.

Freedom of Political ExpressionPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

November 6th, 2023 / 4 p.m.
See context

Conservative

Arnold Viersen Conservative Peace River—Westlock, AB

Madam Speaker, the next petition is from Canadians across the country who would like the House of Commons to recognize that Canadians have the right to be protected against discrimination. Canadians can and do face political discrimination, but it is a fundamental Canadian right to be politically active and vocal. It is in the best interest of Canadian democracy to protect public debate and the exchange of differing ideas; Bill C-257 seeks to add protection against political discrimination to the Canadian Human Rights Act.

Therefore, the petitioners call on the Government of Canada and the House of Commons to support Bill C-257, which would ban discrimination on the basis of political belief and activity, and to defend the rights of Canadians to peacefully express their political opinions.

Human RightsPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

October 16th, 2023 / 4:05 p.m.
See context

Conservative

Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB

Madam Speaker, I have a number of petitions to present to the House today.

The first is in support of my private member's bill, Bill C-257. The petitioners raise concern about the problem of political discrimination in Canada. They note that Canadians can face discrimination on the basis of their political beliefs and that this limits free debate and exchange of ideas. Bill C-257 would add political belief and activity as prohibited grounds of discrimination in the Canadian Human Rights Act.

The petitioners ask the House to support Bill C-257 and to defend the rights of Canadians to peacefully express their political opinions.

Freedom of Political ExpressionPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

October 5th, 2023 / 10:15 a.m.
See context

Conservative

Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to present a number of petitions to the House today.

The first petition is in support of an excellent private member's bill, Bill C-257. This bill seeks to protect Canadians from discrimination on the basis of political views or activity. It would add political belief and activity as prohibited grounds of discrimination within the Canadian Human Rights Act. The bill recognizes, fundamentally, according to petitioners, that political discrimination is wrong, as well as that it is in the interests of our democracy to have a dynamic in which people can express their political opinions freely without fear of employment-related or other kinds of personal repercussions for taking political positions that reflect their sincerely held convictions.

Petitioners are asking the House to support Bill C-257, and in other areas, to defend the right of Canadians to peacefully express their political opinions.

Expression of Political OpinionPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

October 5th, 2023 / 10:10 a.m.
See context

Conservative

Tom Kmiec Conservative Calgary Shepard, AB

Mr. Speaker, I am presenting a petition on behalf of Canadians who are drawing the attention of the House to Bill C-257, which would add protections against political discrimination to the Canadian Human Rights Act.

The petitioners have two points they want to raise with the House of Commons.

First, they want the House to expeditiously support Bill C-257, which bans discrimination on the basis of political belief or activity.

Second, they want the defence of the rights of Canadians to peacefully express their political opinions to be made a first priority of the House of Commons.

Human RightsPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

September 29th, 2023 / 12:25 p.m.
See context

Conservative

Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB

Madam Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to table a number of petitions in the House today.

The first petition is in support of private member's bill, Bill C-257, a bill that I put forward, along with a parallel bill, Bill S-257, that has been presented in the Senate by Senator Ataullahjan.

This bill would add political belief and activity as prohibited grounds of discrimination in the Canadian Human Rights Act. We are seeing an increase in incidents where individuals are discriminated against or threatened with discrimination on the basis of their political views. Not only is this an unjustified form of discrimination like many others, but it has a chilling effect on democratic deliberation, according to the petitioners.

Petitioners call on the House to support Bill C-257, which bans discrimination on the basis of political belief and activity, and defend the rights of all Canadians to peacefully express their political opinions.