''An Act to amend the Criminal Code (hate propaganda)'', (, also known as ''Bill C-250'' during the second and third sessions of the 37th Canadian parliament) is an Act of the

Parliament of Canada The Parliament of Canada () is the Canadian federalism, federal legislature of Canada. The Monarchy of Canada, Crown, along with two chambers: the Senate of Canada, Senate and the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons, form the Bicameral ...

to amend the ''Criminal Code''. It added penalties for publicly inciting hatred against or encouraging the genocide of people on the basis of

sexual orientation Sexual orientation is an enduring personal pattern of romantic attraction or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. Patterns ar ...

and added a defence for the expression of good-faith opinions based on religious texts. It originated in a

Private Member's Bill A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in wh ...

introduced by Svend Robinson, a member of the opposition.

Content

Prior to this amendment, the ''Criminal Code'' prohibited the promotion of genocide and the public incitement of hatred against groups identifiable by

colour Color (or colour in Commonwealth English; see spelling differences) is the visual perception based on the electromagnetic spectrum. Though color is not an inherent property of matter, color perception is related to an object's light absorp ...

, race,

religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...

, and ethnic origin. The ''Act'' expanded coverage of these existing provisions to include groups identifiable on the basis of

. The ''Act'' also expanded one of the defences available to persons charged with the incitement of hatred, allowing for the expression of good-faith opinions based on religious texts, in addition to the preexisting defence allowing the good-faith expression of opinions on religious subjects. As with all Canadian legislation, this act has equal force in French in which it is called ''La Loi modifiant le Code criminel (propagande haineuse)''.

Religious freedom concerns

Critics of the bill claimed that it would prohibit reciting various scripture condemning

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...

, while supporters pointed out that the bill added an explicit defence against any charge of incitement of hatred for opinions expressed in good faith based on religious texts. Critics of the law however, have expressed concern the courts will abrogate the religious loophole because "good faith" is not clearly defined.

Legislative history

C-250 was first introduced in 2001 into the 37th Parliament, 1st Session as Bill C-415 by New Democratic MP Svend Robinson. Following the end of that session, the bill was reintroduced as C-250 in the 37th Parliament, 2nd Session. It passed the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

on September 17, 2003, but was not passed by the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

before the end of the session. The bill was reintroduced in the 37th Parliament, 3rd Session, passing both the Senate on April 28, 2004. Royal Assent was granted on April 29, 2004. :a. List of senators in the 37th Parliament of Canada, These senators have decided against joining the Conservative Party of Canada and have chosen to sit in the Senate as 'Progressive Conservatives' (with Mira Spivak briefly joining the Conservative caucus before becoming an Independent).

References

External links

Text of the Act, in English and French

{{DEFAULTSORT:Act to amend the Criminal Code Canadian federal legislation 37th Canadian Parliament LGBTQ law in Canada 2004 in Canadian politics 2004 in Canadian law Canadian criminal law 2004 in LGBTQ history