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With
the backing of Progressive Conservative MP Peter MacKay,
the Liberal majority on the House of Commons Justice Committee
delivered a severe blow to freedom of conscience and religion
on Tuesday, by approving a private members bill introduced
by New Democratic Party MP Svend Robinson that would add
"sexual orientation" to the hate propaganda
section of the Criminal Code. Vic Toews, the Canadian
Alliance justice critic, emphasizes that his party deplores
hatred directed at any group, but opposes Robinson's legislation
-- Bill C-250 -- because it is so badly drafted it, "would
classify parts of the Bible as hate literature and portions
of the Catholic catechism as hate literature."
Toews
is not alone in expressing such concern. In a statement
on Tuesday, Bill Rogusky of Focus on the Family, Canada,
charged that, "Bill C-250 could make sections of
the Bible illegal, and anyone who criticizes homosexual
behaviour could face criminal prosecution. MPs need to
hear from Canadians on this." CFAC Staff, president
of the Canada Family Action Coalition, foresees that:
"In a world of judicial activism coming from the
courts, it's just a matter of time until the upholding
or expressing of an opinion or belief that homosexuality
is wrong, immoral or unhealthy will be considered hateful
and thus a crime."
On
this as on so many other vital issues of public policy,
Roman Catholics and Evangelicals in Canada are united.
In a letter to Justice Minister Martin Cauchon on April
15, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops made clear:
"Our concern with Bill C-250 is not about the objectives
of prohibiting the incitement or wilful promotion of hatred
or the advocacy of genocide. What troubles us is the possibility
that someone who finds the expression of the beliefs of
the Catholic Church on the sexual conduct of homosexual
persons too blunt or too harsh will invoke the Criminal
Code to silence the teaching."
The
bishops have good reason to be troubled. In 1997, Sylvia
MacEachern, the editor of a Roman Catholic journal, was
subjected to an investigation by the hate-crimes unit
of the Ottawa-Carleton Regional Police for stating on
an Ottawa radio station that she supports the teaching
in the Catechism of the Catholic Church that homosexual
acts are intrinsically disordered and depraved. The charges
were dropped because there was no provision for "sexual
orientation" in the hate-crimes section of the Criminal
Code.
Nonetheless,
Robinson insists that Toews, Rogusky, Beyer, the bishops
and millions of other conscientious Christians have no
cause for concern about his bill, because the Criminal
Code explicitly protects religious belief and requires
the consent of an attorney-general for any hate-crime
prosecution. Robinson asks: "Does Mr. Toews, a former
attorney-general of Manitoba himself, seriously believe
that any Canadian attorney-general would prosecute those
who simply quote the Bible?"
Robinson
might well direct that question to Hugh Owens, an evangelical
Christian who has been taken to court by the Saskatchewan
Human Rights Commission for placing an advertisement in
the Saskatoon StarPhoenix that listed Bible verses opposed
to homosexual acts. In a ruling on Dec. 11, 2002, the
Court of Queen's Bench for Saskatchewan found that the
advertisement exposed homosexuals to hatred, contrary
to section 14(1) of the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code.
In
his defence, Owens cited the guarantees of freedom of
speech and freedom of religion in Section 14(2) of this
same Saskatchewan Human Rights Code and section 2 of the
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. However, the
judge held that these guaranteed freedoms do not extend
to expressions of hatred.
The
Saskatchewan Attorney-General could have intervened in
the Owens' case to uphold freedom of religion, but he
chose not to. Now, Owens is appealing the verdict. If
he loses on appeal, but still refuses to apologize for
the advertisement and to pay $2,000 in damages to each
of three homosexual complainants, he could end up in jail
as a Christian prisoner of conscience. Bill C-250 poses
no less of a threat to conscientious Christians like Owens.
The legislation is now back in the Commons for further
debate. All Canadians who still care about freedom of
religion should bombard their MPs with protests in a last-ditch
attempt to get this dangerous bill stopped before final
passage.
Rory
Leishman
836 Wellington St.,
London, Ontario,
Canada N6A 3S7
Home/Office Phone: 519-439-2676
Home Page: www.roryleishman.com
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