Hate law passes

By ART BABYCH
Canadian Catholic News
Ottawa

Among those voting against the legislation were 41 Liberal MPs and seven Progressive Conservatives.

A day earlier, MPs voted down a re-affirmation of the traditional definition of marriage as the union of a man and a woman exclusively by a vote of 137-132.

Bill C-250, which must still be approved by the Senate, expands the definition of "identifiable group" in the hate propaganda section of the Criminal Code to include sexual orientation. Currently, the identifiable groups are those distinguished by colour, race, religion or ethnic origin.

Opponents of the bill, including the Catholic Church, the Catholic Civil Rights League, Focus on the Family and the Canada Family Action Coalition, fear the legislation will jeopardize freedom of speech and religious expression.

"Our concern with Bill C-250 is not about the objectives of prohibiting the incitement or willful promotion of hatred or the advocacy of genocide," the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops said.

"Scaring people into silence in the midst of the marriage debate is wrong, and an affront to free speech." - Derek Rogusky

"What troubles us is the possibility that someone who finds the expression of the beliefs of the Catholic Church on the sexual conduct of homosexual persons too blunt or too harsh will invoke the Criminal Code to silence the teaching."

Focus on the Family vice-president Derek Rogusky said Bill C-250 would have only one effect - to jeopardize free speech. "Scaring people into silence in the midst of the marriage debate is wrong, and an affront to free speech," he said.

Brian Rushfeldt, executive director of the Canada Family Action Coalition, said that under the legislation, "those who publicly oppose the Liberal plan to encode same-sex 'marriage' in law risk criminal prosecution."

Some religious groups fear that the bill will lead to charges that the Bible is hate literature because it condemns homosexuality. MP Svend Robinson, who introduced the bill, dismisses the suggestion, saying his bill, "in no way limits or threatens the freedom of religious expression or religious texts."

But many of the groups opposed to the legislation are not convinced.

"We are aware that the supporters of this bill suggest that this concern is without legal foundation but, given the challenges to religious freedom in the last few years, we are not willing to rely on these assurances," the CCCB said in a letter sent to federal Justice Minister Martin Cauchon in April.

Newfoundland Liberal MP John Efford, however, believes Robinson's bill will not protect religious leaders who preach against homosexuality from the pulpit.

Assurances from Justice Minister Martin Cauchon that no charges would be laid against such preachers if they acted "in good faith" was not good enough, said Efford, who voted against the bill. "There's not enough assurance that they could not be charged."

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