Bill C-9 and Religious Expression

The Canadian government is currently working through Bill C-9, legislation introduced in response to the rise in hate-motivated incidents, including a significant increase of antisemitism in Canada. 

The CRCNA is an affiliate member of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC), which has been engaging in this matter on our behalf in significant ways. 

We are in support of strong protections for Jewish communities and all who face hate. However, questions have been raised about aspects of the bill that might interfere with religious speech. While willfully promoting hatred towards groups of people is a criminal offense, there has been a defense to being criminally charged if a person’s speech or actions were based on a good-faith interpretation of their religious beliefs. Bill C-9 would remove this good-faith religious belief defence in the Criminal Code.

On December 11, 2025, Al Postma, Executive Director of the Christian Reformed Church in Canada, attended a policy briefing hosted by the EFC. Some of the key take-aways include:

• This Bill arose out of concerns for the safety of religious communities, in particular Jewish communities that were experiencing increased antisemitism.
• Use of the good-faith defense has very rarely been invoked. When it has, it has never been successful as those charged with promoting hate were not able to sufficiently prove that their promotion of hatred towards specific people groups was an actual good faith depiction of the religion they claimed as their own. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms continues to have strong protections for religious liberty. These Charter rights are not at risk due to Bill C-9 legislation.
• There is nothing new being criminalized though Bill C-9 (ie. reading the Bible), instead  a particular method of defense is being removed if someone has already been charged with promoting hatred.
• Some religious groups which are advocates for Bill C-9 (eg. Jewish community) may agree that removing the good-faith defense is not preferred, but may be more concerned about ensuring the Bill passes in order to secure the protection it provides for their communities and places of worship.
• One concern with the removal of the good-faith defense is that, increasingly, perspectives of some religious groups on social matters are becoming more marginalized  and may be labeled as "hateful." This increases the value of ensuring there are strong protections in place for good-faith expressions of perspectives based on one's religion.
• The current government has said that they do want to hear from potentially affected religious groups. The EFC hopes to participate in a future consultation on Bill C-9. There are still multiple moments in the passage of the Bill that provide room for amendments.

• What you can do

• Read & Share the EFC’s resources. As an affiliate, the CRC is currently using and promoting the EFC’s resources, and relying on the EFC as the primary vehicle of denominational engagement on this matter.
• Contact your MP to express both your support for protecting minority groups from hate crimes, and your concerns about the removal of the good faith defense language. Ask your MP to maintain the defence, and to ask their colleagues on the Justice Committee to reject the amendment. See these talking points and MP contact guide from the EFC for ideas on the most effective language.
• Faith in Action is a short, accessible self-led workshop that supports individuals and churches to better engage in political advocacy. If advocacy on this and other matters is important to you, consider using this workshop to ensure that your advocacy efforts are as productive as possible.
• Pray for Members of Parliament as they discern next steps, for continued protections for religious expression, and for affected Canadians who are experiencing heightened threats and violence to their communities.