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Conrad Black: Liberals unfairly target religious expression

Bill C-9 in urgent need of refinement

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Bill C-9, the Combating Hate Act, which passed the House of Commons this spring has been controversial because of widespread fears that its broad definitions of hate speech and intimidation threatened fundamental democratic rights. Almost everybody opposes incitement to group hatred but almost everybody also supports the widest definition of freedom of human conduct that does not lead to chaos or promote or defend sociopathic behaviour. Opponents of C-9 are particularly concerned at the removal from the Criminal Code’s protection of people acting in good faith in reciting religious texts that could be construed as incitements to hate, even if unintentionally.

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The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) and other civil rights advocates have expressed concern that the definitions of intimidation and obstruction in the bill are so broad that peaceful and otherwise irreproachable protesters may be subject to severe prosecution for hate crimes just for assembling near places of worship or other sites for demonstrations. Another delicate point is the extension of increased discretionary power to police by adopting a threshold for what amounts to the incitement or expression of hate. There is particular concern over the bill’s proposed removal of the requirement of the attorney general of the province to consent to a prosecution. It is certainly understandable that many reasonable groups would have........

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