CANADALAND Is Carney Really Making Christianity a Hate Crime?
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Dec 12, 2025 Jan Wong, a veteran journalist and author known for her insights on Canadian affairs, dives into the heated debate surrounding Bill C-9. They explore the implications of removing the religious exemption in hate speech laws and the challenges of enforcing these laws in reality. The conversation touches on the political maneuvering between the Liberals and the Bloc Quebecois, as well as issues like targeting harassment in specific communities. Wong also reflects on broader societal trends, such as the shift in food culture reported by the NY Times.
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Why Hate Charges Rarely Stick
- Canada's existing hate-crime law mostly tacks hate motivation onto other crimes and rarely leads to convictions.
- Jesse Brown explains proving motive is hard so prosecutors often drop the hate element to avoid losing cases.
Symbol Display Is High-Threshold Offence
- Bill C-9 would criminalize willfully promoting hatred by displaying certain symbols in public, but only when used to promote hatred.
- Jesse Brown says the law sets a high bar: willful promotion targeted at an identifiable group, not accidental display.
Context, Not Just Symbols, Matters
- The law targets hostile uses of symbols, distinguishing between passive possession and deliberate hateful displays.
- Jesse Brown compares a private swastika patch (untouchable) to a swastika flag outside a black church (arrestable under the bill).