Mr. Speaker, it is a privilege to rise in the House to give my thoughts on Bill C-9.
Hate, threats and intimidation are real. The issue is not whether hate exists, because it does. As a Christian, I condemn it. The issue is the Liberals using Bill C-9 to criminalize lawful speech, emotion and expression, sincerely held religious beliefs and ordinary public discourse. That is what this bill is attempting to do and it is what is at stake in this bill.
Bill C-9 would give the government more power over freedom of speech and expression. It would hand a small, elite group of politicians, prosecutors and activists more power to decide which views held by ordinary Canadians are acceptable and which words should trigger criminal investigations. This should concern every single member of the House.
This bill would move criminal law away from punishing clear criminal acts to punishing contested ideas, alleged motives and beliefs that are at odds with the political agenda of the government. It would put the sincerely held religious beliefs of Canadians in the crosshairs, which are beliefs held by many Canadians today and by most Canadians throughout history.
Violence against Christians is real. When churches are burned, schools are no longer safe and community spaces are targeted, Canadians expect the law to respond and Parliament to speak clearly. The Liberal government has not done that. Many Canadians were stunned that the House could not unanimously condemn church burnings and attacks on religious freedom. Since 2021, there have been more than 100 churches in Canada burned, vandalized or desecrated. Canadians saw it happen. The Liberal government also saw it happen, but it was silent, “crickets”. Before Liberals begin lecturing Canadians about hate, they should explain why they have been so weak when Christian communities have been attacked in this country.
Canadians do not have to guess where this bill is going because the Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture already said it plainly. When he was the chair at the justice committee studying this bill, he said that books in the Bible, “Leviticus, Deuteronomy and Romans” were books of “clear hatred” and there “should perhaps be discretion for prosecutors to press charges.” Those are serious words.
What does Romans actually say? Romans is a book in the New Testament of the Holy Bible that was written by the Apostle Paul. We have to understand that Paul was born a Jew. He was raised and educated in strict Jewish observance of laws, practices and theology, then he had an experience with Jesus and became a Christian. He gave his life to Jesus Christ through faith in him. The central theme of Romans, a book that Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome, is the gospel of the revelation of God's righteousness, offering salvation to everyone who believes, regardless of Jewish or gentile background. It focuses on justification by faith alone, the universal need for salvation due to sin and the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit.