Conservative MPs plan event to ‘stop Liberal attack on religious freedom’ in Canada

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OTTAWA, Ontario (LifeSiteNews) — Conservative pro-life MPs will hold an upcoming “Religious Freedom Town Hall” in an attempt to “stop” the Liberal federal government’s “attack on” religious rights in Canada.

“We need to stop the Liberal attack on religious freedom. Countless Canadians have reached out with concerns about Bill C-9,” Conservative MP Andrew Lawton wrote in a recent X post announcing the town hall.

“Time is of the essence, so I’m holding a series of religious freedom town halls across the country with my Conservative colleagues. Join us.”

The Town Hall will be held on January 20 in Brampton, Ontario, at the Galaxy Grand Convention Centre starting at 7 p.m. Admission is free, but attendees must sign up.

According to the Town Hall website, the event will discuss “Bill C-9 and Free Speech” and will feature Lawton along with fellow Conservative MPs Larry Brock and Garnett Genuis.

In an X post this week, Genuis put out a call for people in the area to attend the event.

“Come out to share your concerns about C-9 and show your support for religious freedom in Canada,” Genuis wrote.

As reported by LifeSiteNews, Bill C-9, the Combating Hate Act, has been blasted by constitutional experts as allowing empowered police and the government to go after those it deems to have violated a person’s “feelings” in a “hateful” way. The bill was introduced by Justice Minister Sean Fraser last year.

The bill, if passed, could criminalize parts of the Bible, with Genuis before warning it is a direct “attack” on religious freedom and would allow the “prosecution” of those who simply read certain passages of scripture in “good faith.”

As reported by LifeSiteNews, Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal government recently passed amendments to the bill removing a religious exception.

The amendments to Bill C-9 have been condemned by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, who penned an open letter to the Carney Liberals blasting the proposed amendment and calling for its removal.

Liberal bill ‘very dangerous’ warns Conservative MP 

In a video post on X, Lawton shared his thoughts on Bill C-9, noting that he has been inundated with concerns from his constituents about it.

He warned Canadians of faith that it is a “very dangerous” bill that squarely takes “aim at religious freedom and freedom of expression.”

“The bill is supposed to be protecting communities from hate but actually will send people to jail for up to two years if they express a religious view or even cite a religious scripture the government finds offensive,” he said.

“My Conservative colleagues and I have been 100 percent clear. We have been unequivocal that we will not stand for this attack on religious freedom and freedom of expression for Canadians.”

Lawton noted that Bill C-9 is expected to be “rammed” through Parliament by the Liberals and that the time to “act” is now.

“We need to act now and raise the stakes so much that the Liberals realize they cannot get away with attacking people of faith and all people in Canada who care about religious freedom in this way,” he said.

“I’m going to be holding a series of emergency town halls and roundtables with faith leaders and all Canadians concerned about this across the country over the next two weeks, between now and when the House of Commons comes back.”

Lawton noted that the roundtables will be held throughout Canada, starting with the January 20 Brampton event.

“The Liberal and the Bloc Québécois members have made a deal to pass Bill C-9 as is. The only way to stop this is by putting political pressure on the Liberals, so they know that people in this country will not stand for their civil liberties being compromised in the interests of political expediency. I hope you’ll join me at one of these town halls across the country,” he said.

As reported by LifeSiteNews, Canadian constitutional legal expert John Carpay, who heads the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF), warned that Canadians must remain vigilant and that being lazy is “no excuse” to stand by and allow the “takeover” of “free speech” online by government laws.

The Conservative Party launched a petition over fear that religious texts could be criminalized. Thousands of Canadians have signed it.