Thank you.
I'll be using prepared remarks that were circulated with the Canadian Council of Churches at the top, and speaking especially to clause 14 and the removal of section 176.
Thank you for the invitation to appear as a witness in this committee. We appreciate your outreach, and applaud the committee for connecting with representative organizations whose membership is affected by this legislation.
We would like to begin by acknowledging that the land on which we gather today is the traditional unceded territory of the Algonquin people. Further, nearly each and every community in Canada is home to communities of the Christian faith who belong to a member denomination of the Canadian Council of Churches, so we also acknowledge that the Canadian Council of Churches and its members live, work, and worship on the territories of first nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples of the land.
The Canadian Council of Churches (CCC) is the broadest and most inclusive ecumenical body in the world, now representing 25 denominations of Anglican; Evangelical; Free Church; Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox; Protestant; and Catholic traditions. Together the CCC is comprised of 85% of the Christians in Canada who profess adherence to a church.
The Canadian Council of Churches was founded in 1944.
The Canadian Council of Churches also participates in the Canadian Interfaith Conversation, whose charter vision states that “deep in the life of Canada and Canadians is the identity and practice of religion” and so “represents the desire to advocate for religion in a pluralistic society and in Canadian public life.” Together, its members “want to promote harmony and religious insight among religions and religious communities in Canada, strengthen our society’s moral foundations, and work for greater realization of the fundamental freedom of conscience and religion for the sake of the common good and an engaged citizenship.”
That's the introduction. Now I will speak a bit on the context and relevance.
Tomorrow is Reformation Day. It will be 500 years since Martin Luther disrupted the Christian church in Europe, was obstructed and prevented from celebrating divine service, and was arrested on his way to or from the performance of his duties. This year, the Roman Catholic and Lutheran churches are making history celebrating services under the theme “Conflict to Communion”.
In more recent years, Martin Luther King embodied and led a civil rights movement that was rooted in his and his community's religious practices. He and his community—an assemblage of persons meeting for a moral, social and benevolent purpose—was repeatedly disturbed and interrupted.
Here in Turtle Island, Canada, Dan Cranmer held a potlatch on the coast of British Columbia at the village of 'Mimkwamlis, during Christmas of 1921, and was arrested. Colonialism is an obstruction to religious freedom. For the period 2010 to 2013, StatsCan reports an average of 67 incidents per year of mischief motivated by hate in relation to religious property, as reported by police.
Religious expression is a central part of the identity and values of all people of faith in Canada. In faith traditions around the world, the religious leader is indispensable to the celebration or performance of religious ceremonies or rites. When they are unlawfully prevented or obstructed from serving or performing any other function in connection to their calling, then a whole religious community experiences harm. Given this ongoing significance of faith and religious leadership in the lives of a significant number of people in Canada, we respectfully submit that section 176 of the Criminal Code is not redundant or obsolete.