moved for leave to introduce Bill C‑373, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (promotion of hatred or antisemitism).
Mr. Speaker, it is an honour for me today to introduce this bill to amend the Criminal Code so that religious beliefs can never again be used as a justification for hate speech or words meant to incite violence under the Criminal Code.
It is very unfortunate that people in positions of influence, whether in the religious or civil domain, use their status to incite hatred and violence and sometimes even enjoy a certain impunity in that regard. The recent actions of a Montreal preacher are a shameful example.
This behaviour is unacceptable and must be punished. That is the purpose of our bill. We think that we need to take action as quickly as possible on this, particularly since the Israeli-Palestinian conflict could exacerbate tensions.
I invite the elected members of all parties in the House to join forces and to debate and pass this bill as quickly as possible.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)