Bill C-9: Is this a Real Threat to Religious/Spiritual People in Alberta?

By Michael Darte

Although the proposal was “Tabled in the House of Commons, October 7, 2025” (GoC, 2025, “Charter Considerations, para. 1), for many, the first they heard of a threat to their religious/spiritual worldview was from Michelle Rempel Garner, Member of Parliament from Calgary, Nose Hill. Her first video stated that the “Liberals [have a] deal with the Bloc [which] means hate speech laws will lose exemption for sincerely held religious belief” (Rempel Garner, 2025, 00:25).¹ Garner made it clear that the “Liberals intend to criminalize religious belief” (00:55).

Martin Champoux, of the Bloc Québécois in Drummond (QC), had opened the Sacred Scripture debate about removing religious exemption for “sincerely held practices or beliefs that have a connection with religion” (GoC, “Charter Considerations, para. 1).² So, is this a real threat to religious/spiritual worldviews in Alberta?

Those who support Bill C-9 say “No, we are not talking about freedom of religion in general. We are just talking about people who conceal hateful, criminal and violent rhetoric in religious language” (Lawton, 2025, p. 4606).³ Here is the problem: this is a slippery slope based on how laws and language have developed in the past in Canada. A slippery slope is an idea that “will lead to a chain reaction resulting in an undesirable end or ends” (Department of Philosophy, n.d.).⁴ Based on past experience with life in Canada, you would recognize how definitions change to make certain speech illegal.

If one were to dig deeper into how language changes in Canadian law and society, people of any religious tradition should be concerned. For example, in 2005, the definition of “marriage” changed to include two of the same sex,⁵ and the definition of “man” and “woman” changed in 2010 with Bill C-3 (GoC., 2025).⁶ Given that there are penalties that follow for those who refuse to submit to such changes, the penalties for violating language laws can be severe for any business in Canada.⁷ Furthermore, according to the Centre for Free Expression (2017), criminal charges can be up to 2 years for publicly promoting hatred against an identifiable group, where public peace is threatened.⁸ The trouble becomes: what if the group is not tolerant of anything a religious understanding whatsoever? At this time, there are exceptions made for those who make such statements “in private conversation” (“Wilful promotion of hatred,” sect. 2).⁹ For these reasons, Albertans need to take such changes to language seriously.

How Does Your “Good Faith” Violate Canadian Laws?

According to the Criminal Code of Canada, you have protection (as of now) with your sincerely held religious belief that is based in your religious text (Torah, Bible, Quran, or the Hindu “Manu Smriti,” for examples). Bill C-9 attempts to seek out those who “conceal hateful speech in religious language”. So, those who don’t like what you say can become “informants” that seek out people with sincerely held religious beliefs, and report them in hopes of purging your belief system from Albertan society.

In closing, based on how the Liberal/NDP parties have changed Canadian law in the past, to define “marriage” and “gender” against religious views on these subjects, and have financially penalized businesses that don’t “fall in line” with Canadian law, we can expect the definition of “hate” to change to include anything those in power decide to implement. As Martin Champoux (2025) stated, “All this religious exemption does is protect incitement to hatred and violence under the guise of religion. That is all it does” (para. 3, p. 4608).¹⁰ From this attitude in the Canadian government, we can anticipate the Government of Canada will remove parts of Sacred Scripture(s) that they deem “offensive”. “Hate laws” of Canada have been used to punish those with sincerely held religious beliefs in the past;¹¹ so, “YES,” Albertans should be concerned about Bill C-9 and their “sincerely held religious belief” in the future of Canada.

The Alberta Prosperity Project stands resolute in defence of religious freedom for every Albertan, regardless of faith. In a sovereign Alberta, our proposed policies include enshrining strong protections for freedom of conscience and religion directly in our constitution—ensuring that Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Sikhs, Indigenous spiritual practitioners, and all other religious communities can freely practise their beliefs, live in accordance with their sacred texts, and express sincerely held convictions without fear of federal interference or evolving “hate speech” laws that could criminalise core teachings. Bills like C-9 highlight the growing threat from Ottawa, where shifting definitions risk targeting religious expression under the pretext of combating hatred, eroding the very liberties that allow diverse faiths to thrive. Voting YES to Alberta independence is vital for people of all religions: it secures a prosperous, self-determining nation where faith is truly protected from central Canadian overreach. Join the movement today at https://albertaprosperityproject.com and commit to voting YES—your religious freedom depends on it.

References

Footnotes

1. Rempel Garner, M. (2025, December 1). SOS: Liberals announce criminalization of religious belief C-9 AMENDMENT EXPLAINED. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mM9R7tGXmg&t=1s (Parenthesis added for context). ↩
2. Government of Canada. (2025, Oct. 9). Bill C-9: An Act to amend the Criminal Code (hate propaganda, hate crime and access to religious or cultural places). ↩
3. Lawton, A. (2025, Dec. 4). House of Commons Debates Official Report (Hansard). Volume 152, No. 067. https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2025/parl/X3-451-67-eng.pdf ↩
4. Department of Philosophy. (n.d.). Slippery Slope. Texas State University. https://www.txst.edu/philosophy/resources/fallacy-definitions/slippery-slope.html ↩
5. Government of Canada. (2025, Dec. 18). Civil Marriage Act. S.C. 2005, c. 33. https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-31.5/page-1.html ↩
6. Government of Canada. (2025, Aug. 15). Gender equality timeline 1900–2025. https://www.canada.ca/en/women-gender-equality/commemorations-celebrations/gender-equality-week/gender-equality-timeline.html ↩
7. Government of Canada. (2025, Nov. 26). Proposed regulations on administrative monetary penalties under the Official Languages Act. https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/canadians-official-languages-act/administrative-monetary-penalties.html ↩
8. Centre for Free Expression. (2017, Nov. 14). Legal Restriction on Hate Speech in Canada. https://cfe.torontomu.ca/guidesadvice/legal-restriction-hate-speech-canada ↩
9. Centre for Free Expression. (2017, Nov. 14). Legal Restriction on Hate Speech in Canada. https://cfe.torontomu.ca/guidesadvice/legal-restriction-hate-speech-canada ↩
10. Champoux, M. (2025, Dec. 4). House of Commons Debates Official Report (Hansard). Volume 152, No. 067. https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2025/parl/X3-451-67-eng.pdf ↩
11. Lafontaine, M. (2025, November 26). Church sues after City of Montreal issues $2,500 fine for hosting ‘MAGA superstar’. Global News. https://globalnews.ca/news/11544148/church-sues-city-of-montreal-hosting-maga-superstar/ ↩