The Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights ended the debate about the anti-hate law on Wednesday. Multiple groups criticized The bill is poorly drafted and would violate freedom of expression and religion.
Known as the Anti-hatred lawBill C-9 would criminalize the “deliberate promotion of hatred” by displaying symbols of listed terrorist groups, the Nazi swastika and other symbols “so similar” to them. The law would also criminalize crimes motivated by “hatred” based on specific personal characteristics. On Wednesday, the committee approved the final version of the bill for third reading by a vote of 5-4.
The finalized version taken over again the definition formulated by the Supreme Court of Canadawhich requires extreme manifestations of disgust and vilification to establish “hatred.” In addition, the requirement for the Attorney General’s approval of charges was reintroduced as a procedural safeguard to prevent politically motivated prosecutions.
Christine Van Geyn, interim managing director of the Canadian Constitutional Foundationcriticized the abolition of bona fide religious speech defense. She disputed that the defense is not only extremely narrow and difficult to enforce in court, but is also essential for protection freedom of expression and prevent excessive criminalization of faith and genuine religious traditions. Attorney General Sean Fraser clarified that practicing one’s religion can never constitute a hate crime and therefore no such defense is required in the Bill.
The House Standing Committee has been considering the bill for the past five months. On March 10, the House of Representatives coordinatedby 186-144 to require the Committee to complete its consideration of the sections without further debate. Conservative MPs on the committee accused the Liberal Party and the Bloc Québécois of ” ram by Parliament and censorship of debate.” On the other hand, Fraser recognized that restricting debate was abnormal but necessary to move forward if the bill was “obstructed and stalled”.
Fraser first submitted the bill in September 2025. Er intended that the bill would promote diversity and protect Canadians’ ability to live freely. However, more than 40 civil rights groupsas the Canadian Bar Association2SLGBTQIA+ group SameThe Canadian Civil Liberties AssociationThe Canadian Labor Congressand the Canadian Muslim Public Affairs Councilexpressed concern last fall that the intimidation offense – the ban on “obstructing or impairing” access to places of worship, schools and other buildings used primarily by marginalized groups – was vague and overly broad and violated the right to peaceful assembly.
The third reading of the bill is expected takes place the week of March 23rd to 27th. The bill’s legislative progress remains a developing story.
