Fraser to speak to religious communities about religious exemption for hate

Minister of Justice Sean Fraser arrives to a caucus meeting on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

OTTAWA — Justice Minister Sean Fraser says he’ll speak with representatives from religious communities after Liberal MPs backed a move by the Bloc Québécois to remove the religious exemption for hate speech from the Criminal Code.

At a House of Commons committee meeting on Tuesday, Liberal MPs supported a Bloc amendment to the government’s hate crime bill which creates new offences for intimidating or obstructing someone outside a religious or cultural institution.

Fraser says he’ll meet with religious communities in the coming weeks to inform what happens with the bill further in the Parliamentary process.

The Bloc says it is pleased the amendment passed, but it’s too soon to declare victory given Conservative efforts to slow down the bill’s passage.

Conservative MP Andrew Lawton says the Liberals moved to ram through a bill he describes as toxic and divisive.

Bill C-9 is still in the clause-by-clause process where amendments can be made, after the House of Commons justice committee suspended an eight-hour meeting late Tuesday night.

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press