Stop proceeding with Bill C-9
Petitioners ask the House to stop Bill C-9 and instead enforce existing Criminal Code protections for all Canadians, with emphasis on protecting Jewish people. The government responds that C-9 strengthens tools to counter hate and hate-motivated crime while keeping a high legal threshold and protecting good‑faith religious expression.
Why we would sign this petition
- It preserves current Criminal Code standards and avoids broadening hate‑speech law, addressing petitioners’ concern that C‑9 would lower the legal threshold for “hatred.”
- It prioritizes enforcing existing offences (e.g., disturbance, obstruction, mischief) to protect places of worship and assembled persons without creating new vague definitions.
- It seeks to retain the religious‑opinion defence in s.319(3), which petitioners say protects freedoms of religion, conscience and expression from criminalization.
Why we wouldn’t sign this petition
- Stopping C‑9 would forgo new offences targeting intimidation, obstruction and public display of certain terror/hate symbols that the government says would give police and prosecutors clearer tools.
- The petition overlooks committee and government moves (reinstating Attorney General consent and adding a clause) intended to preserve high thresholds and protect good‑faith religious, academic and public interest discussion.
- Relying only on existing enforcement may forgo the bill’s associated proposals for clearer offences, training, dedicated units and coordination the government links to better prosecution of hate‑motivated crimes.
The summary and both sets of reasons are AI-generated from the petition and given equal weight. Claims are the petitioners’ own; consult the official record for the full text.
Official petition
Petition to the House of Commons in Parliament assembled Criminal Code 319 already protects all Canadians from hate and the Jewish people from antisemitism; Criminal Code 176 (2) already protects Canadians from anyone who wilfully disturbs or interrupts an assemblage of persons met for religious worship or for a moral, social or benevolent purpose, and Criminal Code 176 (3) protects Canadians from anyone who, at or near a meeting referred to in subsection (2), wilfully does anything that disturbs the order or solemnity of the meeting; Criminal Code 430 (1) (c) protects Canadians from anyone who wilfully obstructs, interrupts or interferes with the lawful use, enjoyment or operation of property; or (d) obstructs, interrupts or interferes with any person in the lawful use, enjoyment or operation of property; The authority should enforce the existing laws to protect all Canadians, especially the Jews; Bill C-9 lowers the legal standard for “hatred” with a vague definition which is confusing and immeasurable, threating freedom of speech and expression; Bill C-9 removes important safeguards, like requiring Attorney General approval for hate speech charges; and Bill C-9 has been amended to remove religious defense Criminal Code 319(3) which will undermine constitutional rights to freedoms of religion, conscience, religion, thought, belief, opinion and expression, and freedom of the press and other media of communication. We, the undersigned, citizens and residents of Canada, call upon the House of Commons in Parliament assembled to stop proceeding with Bill C-9 and to enforce the existing laws to protect all Canadians.
Government response
Response by the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency Signed by THE PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY PATRICIA LATTANZIO Canada has faced a troubling rise in hate speech and hate crimes in recent years. To better protect all people in Canada, including how they worship, gather, and practice their faith in their daily lives, the Government of Canada introduced Bill C-9, the Combatting Hate Act, in the House of Commons on September 19, 2025. Amongst other measures, Bill C-9 proposes to prohibit intimidating someone in order to impede them from accessing places of worship, as well as schools or community centres used primarily by an identifiable group or obstructing access to such places. These proposed intimidation and obstruction offences would complement existing offences in the Criminal Code that address harmful conduct, such as uttering threats (section 264.1), intimidation (section 423) and mischief to property (section 430). They would provide additional tools for police and prosecutors to specifically address similar criminal conduct that impedes access to religious and cultural institutions. The Bill also proposes to make it a crime to wilfully promote hatred against an identifiable group by displaying certain symbols of terrorism and hate in public, as well making hate motivated crime a specific offence, ensuring such conduct is more clearly denounced and that offenders are held accountable. These measures would strengthen Canada’s ability to counter hate-motivated crime and hate speech across the country. As a result of the new hate-motivated crime offence, Bill C-9 proposes to repeal the existing hate-motivated mischief offence (subsection 430(4.1)). This would not result in any loss of protections under the criminal law. As part of its study of Bill C-9 to date, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights adopted motions to reinstate the requirement for Attorney General consent in subsections 318, 319(2), 319(2.1) and add this requirement to the new hate propaganda offence targeting the public display of certain terrorism and hate symbols. The Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights also adopted a motion to repeal the defence in paragraphs 319(3)(b) and 319(3.1)(b) of the Criminal Code, often referred to as the good faith religious opinion defence. The defence currently applies to two hate propaganda offences: wilful promotion of hatred against an identifiable group (subsection 319(2)) and wilful promotion of antisemitism by condoning, denying or downplaying the Holocaust (subsection 319(2.1)). It may be invoked where a person, in good faith, expresses an opinion on a religious subject or an opinion based on a belief in a religious text. The motion has generated robust debate. Independent of the defence, the threshold for hate propaganda offences continues to be appropriately high. For the offence in subsection 319(2), the Crown must prove the accused intended to promote hatred against an identifiable group. As noted above, hatred is a high threshold involving vilification or detestation. Religious sermons, texts and teachings delivered in good faith do not meet this standard and are not criminalized. Removing the defence does not change the scope of conduct captured by the offence. In addition, government members on the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights have proposed a clause for greater certainty in Bill C-9. This clause codifies in clear statutory language what has always been the case in Canadian law: that good faith religious, educational, political, or academic discussion on matters of public interest is not prohibited, unless there is a wilful promotion of hatred against an identifiable group. In January 2026, the Minister of Justice hosted roundtable discussions with faith-based groups and Indigenous partners to better understand their concerns around removing the defence, and to reiterate the Government of Canada’s commitment to ensuring that good faith religious expression remains fully protected. The Government of Canada is committed to working with provincial and territorial partners to enhance enforcement of hate-related crime. In January 2026, the Ministers of Justice and Public Safety released the National Commitments to Combat Antisemitism, including a commitment to enhance enforcement and prosecution by strengthening police training across Canada, expanding and supporting dedicated hate crime units, improving the consistency in collection and use of data on antisemitism, and strengthening prosecution processes to enhance coordination across jurisdictions. A strong Canada protects every person’s right to worship freely, while ensuring that no one is targeted with acts of hate that threaten community or public safety. The Government of Canada is committed to working with all Parliamentarians with the goal of passing this important piece of legislation.