Mr. Speaker, I am presenting a petition today on behalf of the residents in my community on Bill C-9 and the proposal by the Liberal and Bloc members of the House to remove long-standing safeguards that protect religious freedom and religious expression, including religious expression based on sacred texts. The petitioners share the desire to combat hate and acts that propagate hate, but note that this proposal would not achieve those goals and would instead subject those who hold sincerely held religious beliefs to criminal prosecution.
Therefore, the petitioners are calling on the government to do two things. The first is to withdraw this proposal entirely, and the second is to promote and protect religious freedom for all Canadians, uphold their right to read, share and teach sacred texts and prevent government overreach into matters of faith.