Conservative MPs gather to discuss Bill C-9 at open house

Conservative MPs, including guest speaker Andrew Lawton, held an open house March 31 to relay their concerns on Bill C-9.

Approximately 200 people attended a town hall meeting to discuss and voice concerns with the Liberal government’s proposed Bill C-9, a bill aimed at hate propaganda, hate crimes and access to religious or cultural places.

After meeting with regional faith leaders earlier in the day, Conservative MPs met with the crowd of concerned residents at the Ciociaro Club March 31. The guest speaker was Elgin-St. Thomas-London South MP Andrew Lawton and he was joined by Conservative colleagues including Essex MP Chris Lewis, Windsor-Tecumseh MP Kathy Borrelli, Windsor West MP Harb Gill and Chatham-Kent-Leamington MP Dave Epp.

Preserving freedom of expression and religious freedoms was of concern at the open house, with Lawton indicating his belief the bill will infringe on people’s fundamental rights. He believes the bill, which is currently in the senate, will remove protections that people of faith have had for years.

Lawton said there are existing laws that are on the books to protect Canadians against hate crimes and that new laws will not fix the problem. He said the “laws are there” but the political leadership isn’t always there.

“People of faith have the right to freedom of expression,” he said.

According to Lawton, the only reason the bill got through the House of Commons was because the Liberals made a deal with the Bloc Quebecois. 

“The fight is not over,” he vowed. “Bill C-9 cannot be allowed to pass. You can’t negotiate people’s rights and freedoms.”

Lawton contended no faith community is protected by this legislation.

“If you don’t have freedom of expression, you don’t have anything,” he said.

Lewis said his office has been “inundated” with people concerned about Bill C-9. He also believed it will infringe on people’s rights and freedoms, “especially on religion.”

The open house was “fantastic,” he added. 

Borrelli said “we saw (Bill C-9) as wrong” and she wanted to have Lawton come to the area. She accused the bill of “attacking people of faith.”

“We want to maintain our rights and freedoms.”

According to the Canadian Department of Justice’s website: “Bill C-9 would amend the Criminal Code to propose new offences to better protect access to religious, cultural and other specified places, and to address hate-motivated crimes. The proposed amendments in the Bill would create four new criminal offences: (1) an intimidation offence that prohibits conduct that is intended to provoke a state of fear in another person to impede them from accessing religious or cultural institutions and other specified places; (2) an offence that prohibits the intentional obstruction of a person’s lawful access to such places; (3) a hate crime offence to more explicitly denounce hate-motivated crime; and (4) an offence that prohibits wilfully promoting hatred against any identifiable group by displaying, in any public place, certain hate or terrorist symbols. A definition of ‘hatred’ would also be added to the Criminal Code to clarify the type of conduct captured by the new hate crime offence and existing hate propaganda offences. The Bill proposes other amendments to the Criminal Code, including adding some of the new proposed offences to the existing scheme governing the interception of private communications, forensic DNA analysis and making release orders (bail) with conditions.”

Conservative MPs gather to discuss Bill C-9 at open house

By RTT Staff