BURSTInundating Liberal Member of Parliament’s emails with letters of protest over the government’s proposed Bill C-9 on free speech and freedom of religion is something those members would hate.
That was one of a number of messages doled out in regards to the bill by opposition Conservative MPs Scott Anderson of Vernon-Lake Country-Monashee and special guest Andrew Lawton, MP for Elgin-St. Thomas-London South in Ontario, at a town hall meeting on C-9 Wednesday, Jan. 21.
A crowd of close to 500 was lined up outside the doors early at Vernon’s Schubert Centre to hear the politicians’ message and to ask questions in the 90-minute evening meeting.
The Government of Canada’s website says Bill C-9 proposes “to better protect access to religious, cultural, and other specified places, and to address hate-motivated crimes.” It will create four new Criminal Code of Canada offences if passed into law, including a new hate crime offence.”
A definition of ‘hatred’ would also be added to the Criminal Code to “clarify the type of conduct captured by the new hate crime offence and existing hate propaganda offences.”
“Here’s why we are here. The urgency. It’s Wednesday. It’s five days until the house (of Commons) is returning,” said Lawton. “There will be a meeting of the justice committee. If nothing changes, C-9 is the first thing up for debate and discussion.
“The Liberals and the Bloc Quebecois have the votes to pass it. The only way to stop it is to raise the political pressure so much that the Liberals can’t trample on religious freedoms, freedom of expression, all of these others that Canadians rely on…it’s the only way to prevent these reckless and radical changes from being adopted.”
Lawton explained that the proposed amendment to Bill C-9 was passed at the justice committee level after the Bloc agreed to support the Liberals’ bill if the government removed longstanding protections for religious expression, and citing religious scriptures, from the Criminal Code.
The amendment passed but the bill has not.
“You can be charged and convicted of willfully promoting hatred subject to a new definition of hate,” said Lawton, should Bill C-9 be adopted. “No longer can you be protected if you were expressing good faith, religious belief or citing religious scripture.”
Lawton gave out a “homework assignment” to the crowd.
“Reach out in the next five days to the Liberal MPs in B.C.,” he said. “To the Liberal members of the justice committee. To Liberal Justice Minister Sean Fraser. And then, if you’re not tired, start letter writing.”
The man hand-picked by Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre to lead the party’s opposition to the bill had special praise for Anderson.
“When I asked the leader who had volunteered, Scott put two hands up in the air,” said Lawton. “He’s been a tremendous advocate for your community, your province and your freedoms. I’m so grateful to have him on the team.”
Anderson opened the evening by trying to understand the bill’s new definition of “hate.”
“Is it triggered emotions? Is it it hurt feelings?” he asked. “The bill’s explanation is this, quote-unquote, ‘the emotion that involves detestation or vilification and is stronger than dislike or disdain.’
“What does that mean? Does anyone know? Because I sure as heck don’t. It’s entirely subjective. It completely depends on someone’s emotion, a moment when emotions are high. Who decides what hate is?”
Anderson drew a large ovation from the capacity crowd when he said, “a free society by definition is allowed the freedom to think, to speak, to act. In other words, we’re supposed to be free to live according to our own consciences within the bounds of the law that is supposed to protect free speech, not stop it. Government is not supposed to tell us what to do. We are supposed to tell government what to think and do.
“As a Member of Parliament, I’m not an overlord who makes the rules for you. You are supposed to make the rules for me. That’s the way this is supposed to work.”
The evening concluded with a 45-minute question and answer period, which included one woman asking if the Conservatives can successfully block or delay Bill C-9, would the party propose different ideas or do they believe the existing laws as they stand are enough.
“The existing definition of hate, no one has taken issue with in the last few decades,” said Lawton. “I think our laws around intimidation and harassment are working.
“What we need to do is toughen the penalties. There’s an existing law for mischief against a religious property that is under-utilized and should be taken more seriously. There should be mandatory minimum sentences on these offences that target faith communities or minority communities.
“So I think, on the sentencing side, these existing laws are doing their work.”
Lawton concluded his B.C. visit with a stop Thursday, Jan. 22, at Langley’s Trinity Western University.