Debates of June 15th, 2026

Bill C-9—Time Allocation Motion

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to echo the sentiments of my colleague from Rivière-du-Nord and reiterate another point. Certain groups have written to us because there has been a great deal of disinformation coming from the Conservatives. At the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, the Bloc Québécois tabled certain amendments it felt were essential. During one debate, I even heard people go so far as to say that people would no longer be able to protest. Normally, a protest is a legitimate exercise of freedom of expression.

I do hope, however, that if a protest is intended to incite hatred, there will be tools available to intervene.

[Ruby Sahota, Liberal, Brampton North—Caledon, ON]

Mr. Speaker, protesting is a fundamental right in this country, and this bill would not limit the right of peaceful protest, but it should be recognized that under section 1 of the charter, rights and freedoms may be subject to reasonable limits if those limits are prescribed by law and demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society. Those who are not wilfully participating in hate would not end up being charged under any provision of the bill.

There has been a lot of misinformation. I want to reassure Canadians that the bill was brought forward with good intentions after lots of consultation and demand from communities, because we have seen these acts of violence increase in this country and we want to make sure that the government sets the precedent that we will not tolerate hate in our country.

[Andrew Lawton, Conservative, Elgin—St. Thomas—London South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am grateful that the secretary of state just admitted that the government is thinking of this bill as a limit on freedom of expression. That means we are actually just debating whether it is reasonable. That is a very important concession, and it is the first time we have heard section 1 of the charter from the government in the context of Bill C‑9.

I will note that the secretary of state put on notice her intent to seek closure 12 minutes after the debate on this bill began. She and her colleagues have no interest in listening to Canadians, and there are a lot of them. For example, 4 My Canada, led by Faytene Grasseschi, shares that there have been 194,000 phone calls; 1,000 organizations that have signed a declaration against Bill C‑9, representing 1.4 million Canadians; and 240,000 pieces of mail.

When the secretary of state says that this is all Conservative misinformation, is she saying the United Church of Canada, the Conference of Catholic Bishops and the National Council of Canadian Muslims are misinforming, or is it just anyone they disagree with? This is a very important point, and the Liberal government has refused at every stage to listen to Canadians. Will it start now?

[Ruby Sahota, Liberal, Brampton North—Caledon, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this bill was brought forward after listening to the concerns of Canadians. The fear, intimidation and hate that they have been facing are why we have brought forward the bill. It is in order to protect Canadians and to protect the rights of freedom of expression. There are many Canadians who do not feel that it is safe to be able to practise their faith in this country, so the bill is about protecting religion in Canada and making sure that everyone understands that people have a right to their beliefs. That is what the bill is about.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, freedom of religion is guaranteed under the Charter of Rights. I will ask the secretary of state to provide her thoughts on a Conservative Party of Canada email that I received. The email says, “the Liberals are waging a war on religious freedom. Their goal is to expose people of faith to criminal prosecution for a simple act of quoting their own sacred texts.” At the end of the email, it says, “Donate now”, referring to donating to the Conservative Party.

I wonder if the member could provide her thoughts on the misinformation that stems from the chamber, all the way out to the public from the Conservative Party of Canada and how it is using this as a tool to raise money. Raising money is more important to Conservatives than having good, sound public policy. Our freedoms are guaranteed in the Charter of Rights.

[Ruby Sahota, Liberal, Brampton North—Caledon, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have had many conversations in which people state and read out Conservative talking points, exact emails that were sent out by the Conservative Party of Canada.

I want to reassure Canadians today that the proposed intimidation and obstruction offences in the bill have been carefully designed to target criminal conduct while respecting charter rights on freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. The government is confident that the legislation is consistent with the protections of the charter and, if challenged, it can be defended before the courts.

[Warren Steinley, Conservative, Regina—Lewvan, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I am not happy to rise to my feet, but I do have an interesting question about Bill C-9. The Liberals talk about all the hate and mistreatment of other people.

[An hon. member]

Oh, oh!

[Warren Steinley, Conservative, Regina—Lewvan, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the member from northern Saskatchewan can beak all he wants, but this is a serious question about a serious bill. There has been such a rise in hate over the last 10 years, and who has been in government? Why are people so much more angry? Is it the fact that the Liberal government trampled rights and freedoms when it froze people's bank accounts? Was it the fact that it brought police into Ottawa to tamp down a peaceful protest of people wanting their own choice on vaccines? The government has been the most divisive government in the history of Canada. It divided east versus west and rural versus urban, and people have had enough. That is the frustration.

Should the government not take a bit of responsibility for what is happening on the streets under its watch? It has brought this to the point where people are so frustrated with how they have been treated, and they want answers.

[Ruby Sahota, Liberal, Brampton North—Caledon, ON]

Mr. Speaker, there are a lot of reasons. Sometimes world events are a reason. Sometimes it is people's hatred because of the polarization that has happened online over the last little while. Canadians are more isolated than they used to be. They are more staunch in their opinions. In the past, thousands of Black North Americans were lynched. There have been many acts of hate in the past as well. This government did not do that.

The government is taking action. All the Conservatives have been doing is trying to obstruct. They do not want us to protect Canadians. The Conservatives reached an all-time low last week when they voted against longer sentences for child predators.

[Rhéal Fortin, Bloc, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, everything has been said about this bill, including with regard to the religious exemption. Committee proceedings began last October, and in the end, it took time allocation to get it passed. I find that truly deplorable because this is an important bill. Hate is a societal cancer at every level.

I support Bill C-9, the Bloc Québécois supports Bill C-9 and we will vote in favour of Bill C-9. However, regarding the question raised by our Conservative colleagues as to whether we should grant them more time to discuss it, I am not opposed to that.

Personally, I believe there was a lot of unnecessary filibustering in committee since last fall. Despite that, if our Liberal colleagues agreed to drop time allocation and give the Conservatives more time, we would be willing to agree to that. By the end of the week, we could all come to fully understand Bill C-9 and pass it unanimously.

If our Conservative colleagues intend to conduct a good-faith review of this bill, I support them.

[Ruby Sahota, Liberal, Brampton North—Caledon, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned, much time has been given to debate on this matter in the House and in the other place as well. The Senate came back with one amendment; it was the addition of a hate symbol, the noose, because of the anti-Black racism that we have seen throughout North America, and I would say throughout western countries around the world. That is the issue right now. That was the amendment that was brought forward by the Senate, but it does not seem like anyone has questions on that.

I am sad to say that even when debate on this was occurring at the House of Commons committee, a lot of time was wasted talking about frivolous and irrelevant things. I do not believe the opposition party has been acting in good faith.

[Cheryl Gallant, Conservative, Algonquin—Renfrew—Pembroke, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have not seen such public upheaval over legislation since the gun registry was introduced in the late 1990s. The fact of the matter is that we have had anti-hate legislation on the books since the 1970s, and under former justice minister Vic Toews it was more clearly defined; that has been in place.

The real problem is that the government does not want to enforce this and law enforcement is not enforcing what already exists. When we see protests, right outside this building, with people screaming at the top of their lungs that they want to see our Jewish population annihilated, there is a refusal to act on that, even on the grounds of the House of Commons.

Is this bill not really about trying to make it look like the Liberals are doing something about combatting hate instead of really doing it and having it enforced?

[Ruby Sahota, Liberal, Brampton North—Caledon, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we are acting. We are changing the Criminal Code of Canada. The offence of mischief that the member is talking about has very low penalties and is added at the sentencing portion of a crime. This is a stand-alone hate crime. This bill would also create a crime of intimidation and of obstruction. We have seen many Canadians not be able to go to their day camps, their religious schools or their places of worship. It is really important that we make sure that all Canadians feel safe living in Canada.

This bill is essential. Canadians have asked us to make amendments to the Criminal Code of Canada, and we have done so. We have done so in this bill and in several other bills, because we are a government that believes in protecting Canadians.

[Frank Caputo, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Nicola, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise on behalf of the people of Kamloops—Thompson—Nicola. Before I begin, I want to recognize Paul and Elly Major, the parents of Dr. Blair Major, a faculty member of Thompson Rivers University in my riding, on their 50th wedding anniversary. I congratulate Paul and Elly.

We heard a member talk about people who cannot go to synagogues. There was actually a synagogue that was shot up, and that has now been tied to a terrorist who was then alleged to have been connected to a police officer who has been killed. We have had an unprecedented number of churches being burned with nary a word from the government. We have had people who cannot access their places of worship, and the government has not sufficiently denounced it. Forgive me if I say that the government's words ring hollow after 12 years of inaction.

[Ruby Sahota, Liberal, Brampton North—Caledon, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative argument is so disingenuous. In the hate crime or the shooting that happened at the U.S. consulate, the RCMP and local law enforcement investigated that incident. There were actors who belonged to a terrorist organization. It has been reported and alleged that they were working out of the United States of America and were plotting events here in Canada and in Europe. Our law agencies were investigating and were on top of it, and so I give them a lot of credit for the investigation that they have done. However, they could also use more investigative tools, like those in Bill C-22 respecting lawful access, but the Conservatives have been standing in their way.

How many more victims are the Conservatives going to create by their obstruction?

[Lori Idlout, Liberal, Nunavut, NU]

Uqaqtittiji, I think that one thing we all agree on is that the Conservatives are really good at spreading misinformation and disinformation. They have Canadians believing that the bill, if introduced the way it is, would make it possible for someone to be charged just for reading scripture or sharing their faith. This is what the Conservatives have done.

I wonder if the secretary can tell us why it is urgent to pass this bill so that we could help address some of the disinformation that has been shared by the Conservatives.

[Ruby Sahota, Liberal, Brampton North—Caledon, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we have seen many incidents. We have seen 2SLGBTQI+ groups be discriminated against and an extreme rise in violence against them and the transgender community here in Canada. It is important to protect all communities. Whether it is a member of a faith group, a student on campus who wishes to go to a prayer room, or a young kid trying to attend a religious camp or a Jewish school, it is important for them to be able to live their lives. Canada is a place where all people should be free to practise their faith and to go to school without fear and intimidation. That is what the law is all about. Bill C-9 is about giving Canadians the safety they deserve while being who they are.

[Rhonda Kirkland, Conservative, Oshawa, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is a privilege to rise on behalf of the residents of Oshawa.

I would like to start my question by mentioning my father. Today would have been his 85th birthday. He passed away four years ago, just 10 and a half months after my mom passed away. When I was a teenager, there was a lot of talk about hate speech and hate crimes and defining them. I remember him saying to me, at that time, to watch carefully because this will turn into something else as time progresses. What it will turn into is that, one day, our government will say that a certain piece of scripture or religious text will be deemed hate speech or a hate crime. That is a real concern for me.

Why should Canadians trust these guys not to do exactly that and imprison people for speaking their religious truth?

[Ruby Sahota, Liberal, Brampton North—Caledon, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this is exactly the misinformation that I have been speaking about tonight. That is not what the bill does. I would say that I think Canadians would mistrust the current Conservative Party of Canada right now because Conservatives talk about being tough on crime and they talk about making Canada safe, but their actions have not been showing it. Just last week, they voted against making femicide a first-degree murder charge. They voted against longer sentences for child predators. They voted against minimum penalties.

Who are these Conservatives and why are they against safety and protecting Canadians?

[Andrew Lawton, Conservative, Elgin—St. Thomas—London South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I will start with a quote: “[Bill C-9] has the potential to criminalize peaceful protesters and legitimate dissent. This bill, in its current form, gives too much discretionary power to law enforcement, allowing for subjectivity.” That was from the Liberal member for Nunavut a couple of months ago.

I have a question for the Secretary of State for Combatting Crime. Her colleague, the Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture, is a lawyer. He said the following: “In Leviticus, Deuteronomy and Romans, there are passages with clear hatred.... There should...be discretion for prosecutors to press charges.”

Is he right or wrong in his interpretation of hate speech laws applying to scripture?

[Ruby Sahota, Liberal, Brampton North—Caledon, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I mentioned that the bill has gone through all the steps of the legislative process. Through those steps, amendments have been made. Witnesses were able to come forward at committee. Members were able to give their opinions. There was an amendment made by the House. Therefore, after that amendment, the bill maintains the requirement of Attorney General consent for all offences in the bill. What is the member talking about? Police will not even be able to lay charges on their own. This is exactly the misinformation that I keep saying the Conservatives have been spreading.

My message to Canadians is this. We are the government and we are the party that is here to act and to keep Canadians safe.

[The Deputy Speaker, Tom Kmiec]

It is my duty to interrupt the proceedings at this time and put forthwith the question on the motion now before the House.

The question is as follows. May I dispense?

[Some hon. members]

No.

[The Deputy Speaker, Tom Kmiec]

[Chair read text of motion to House]

If a member participating in person wishes that the motion be carried or carried on division, or if a member of a recognized party participating in person wishes to request a recorded division, I would invite them to rise and indicate it to the Chair.