Preaching from the digital Pulpit

Bill C-9 & Religious Freedom — A Pastoral Briefing Bill C-9 Bill C-9: When the State Wants to Define Faith Understand the Combatting Hate Act — and why it matters to our congregation and Christian Churches Current Status: In a 186-144 vote, the House of Commons closed debate on the controversial Bill C-9, the Combatting Hate Act, on March 10, 2026, opening the door to remove the good faith religious speech protections in the Criminal Code. It includes a critical amendment to remove the religious exemption from Canada's hate speech laws. This briefing is about the freedom to read Scripture aloud, preach the whole counsel of God, and live according to our Christian teaching without the threat of criminal prosecution. Read more: "A Christian Response to MP Marc Miller’s Comments" Section One What Is Bill C-9? Bill C-9 — officially the Combatting Hate Act — is a federal proposal to amend Canad...