CLC Blog

The odds may be against us. But there is one last chance to stop Bill C-9 before it receives Royal Assent and becomes the law of the land. The Senate still needs to vote on this dangerous speech control measure championed by the Liberals and pushed through the House of Commons last week.

A second reading has been scheduled in the Senate for April 14th, after which it could quickly proceed to a third and final reading and vote. Alternatively, the Senate could refer it for further study, which could delay this Bill from going into law.

Unfortunately, the prospects for totally stopping Bill C-9 in the Senate are slim, as the vast majority of Senators owe their jobs to our former Liberal Prime Minster, Justin Trudeau. Mr. Trudeau was responsible for the appointment of 81 out of 98 seats in the Red Chamber.

Nevertheless, Trudeau's Senators are not bound to Liberal party discipline, and they enjoy relative independence in their decision-making until the end of their term, at age 75. Also, each Senator is assigned to a given province or territory, which they are supposed to represent. It is possible that some will be open to our concerns, especially if they are confronted with thousands of emails, letters, and phone calls over the next few weeks.

Concerned Canadians need to urge them to take their role seriously as members of the chamber of “sober second thought”. If there was ever a Bill that needed second thought, it is this one!

Bill C-9 removes the long-standing "religious defence" from our Criminal Code. This makes it possible – for the first time ever – for woke police officers and judges to condemn the moral teachings of the Bible. Faithful Christians who proclaim these teachings on life, marriage, and gender may be fined or imprisoned as anti-woman, anti-gay, or anti-trans "hate criminals".

We need only to look to the example of Finland to see where Bill C-9 will take us, here in Canada.

In a recent ruling from the Finnish Supreme Court, a Finnish parliamentarian and doctor, Ms. Päivi Räsänen, along with a Lutheran Bishop, Juhana Pohjola, were convicted of “hate speech” for publishing a pamphlet in 2004 titled, “Male and Female He Created Them.” This pamphlet explains the biblical view of marriage and sexual ethics.

Not only were Ms. Räsänen and Bishop Pohjola fined thousands of Euros, the court ordered that the pamphlet be “removed from public access and destroyed.” This was nothing other than a modern woke-inspired “heresy trial” concluding with a progressive-style “book burning”!

You can read an English translation of the censored pamphlet that has been preserved here.

After the verdict, Ms. Räsänen warned that “this decision demonstrates that freedom of speech must be defended ever more strongly. In practice, its preservation as a robust fundamental right is not self-evident. I have considered it both a privilege and an honour to defend freedom of speech and religion, which is a central right in a democratic state. I intend to continue doing so.”

Like Ms. Räsänen, we must not give up the fight to protect our God-given freedom of speech and religion. Even though our chances of persuading the Senate are slim, with God, nothing is impossible. God doesn’t play the odds!

Let’s remember our Lord Jesus, and how grim things looked for Him as He faced the powers-that-be in Jerusalem. He was wrongfully arrested, prosecuted, beaten, scourged, mocked, and condemned to die. And yet, our Lord turned the world’s greatest tragedy – the crucifixion of the Son of God – into heaven’s greatest victory!

“Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit.” (1 Peter 3:18).

God can turn any situation around – even the passage of Bill C-9. Whatever happens, we know His Word will outlast the verdicts of earthly judges and the bills passed in earthly parliaments. He wins in the end!

In the mean time, let us be faithful to speak out in defence of biblical truth. I would hate to see Canada go the route of Finland. Our country must not become a place where Christians are punished for sharing the teaching of Holy Scripture!

You can write your Senator here: https://www.votervoice.net/CALIFE/Campaigns/136019/Respond