On February 2, the first day after the parliamentary recess, Bill C-250 was reinstated in the Canadian parliament, and is now on second reading in the Senate. Bill C-250 intends to add sexual orientation to the list of identifiable groups under the "hate propaganda" sections of the Criminal Code of Canada.
While The Voice of the Martyrs is against all deliberate incitement of hatred, we join with many other groups, including The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada and the Catholic Rights League, in expressing concern about this bill. The bill could potentially limit legitimate freedom of religious expression on issues such as marriage and homosexuality despite assurances from parliament that religious expression would be exempt.
f the bill does not pass before the widely-expected election call this April, it will die. While an appointed Senate does not respond as readily to public pressure, we do encourage Canadian Christians to present their well-reasoned concerns to a senator from their province. Contact information is available at https://www.vomcanada.com/links.htm.
Pray that the Senate will hold public hearings on this bill and that groups such as the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada will be allowed to respond to the bill.
