Bill C-367 is a private member’s bill introduced by Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet on November 28, 2023. The text of the bill and the status of its progress through Parliament is online at parl.ca/legisinfo/en/bill/44-1/c-367.
Bill C-367 would remove the defence of good-faith religious belief from the Criminal Code sections on the wilful promotion of hatred and wilful promotion of antisemitism. These are found in sections 319(2) and 319(2.1).
In the Criminal Code if someone is found to have willfully promoted hatred or antisemitism, there are several defences. One of these defences is “if, in good faith, the person expressed or attempted to establish by an argument an opinion on a religious subject or an opinion based on a belief in a religious text.”
This defence would only come into play after someone is found to have willfully promoted hatred. This defence has rarely been used in court, and never successfully.
As a private member’s bill rather than a government bill, Bill C-367 will be on a slow track to be debated and voted on. It is not currently on the Order Paper, the list of private member’s bills and motions being debated in the House of Commons.