OTTAWA, ON-Christians already mobilized to defend traditional marriage show every sign of being prepared to also continue opposing Bill C-250 when it reaches the Senate. "Certainly the senators are going to hear a lot from the Christian community," says Janet Epp Buckingham, director of law and public policy with the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada.

"They’re not used to being directly contacted with respect to legislation. But already I have seen numerous Christian groups advocating that people contact senators, that people try to put their names on the list [to be heard on this issue]."

As currently drafted, the bill would make it a crime to express "hatred" toward people based on their sexual orientation, punishable by up to five years in prison. It passed the House of Commons on September 17 on a vote of 140-110.

Many in Canada’s religious community worry the legislation will curb their right to speak openly about homosexuality-and could even result in their sacred texts being banned as "hate propaganda."

"It comes at a terrible time, when Canadians are right in the midst of a serious debate on homosexual marriage," says Derek Rogusky, vice-president of family policy with Focus on the Family Canada.

Bill C-250’s sponsor, British Columbia NDP MP Svend Robinson, says such fears are "utterly without foundation."

Sending a message

"What this bill is about," he told the Vancouver Sun, "is sending a message to the gay bashers; it’s about sending a message to those who promote hatred and violence and even [the] death of gay men."

"This law has nothing to do with murder and violence," counters Brian Rushfeldt, executive director of Canada Family Action Coalition. "It has to do with what people say."

"Robinson has always been totally misleading in his arguments for what this bill is intended to do."

"And if an individual is physically harmed or threatened or if someone counsels an individual to harm someone, there are already laws in our Criminal Code to deal with all that," adds Rogusky.

"This is fascist legislation," says Canadian Alliance MP Vic Toews. "It’s the imposition of a political ideology backed up with the hammer of the criminal law."

Toews predicts that the first to feel the brunt of Bill C-250 would be faith-based organizations that receive government funding.

"For example, The Salvation Army receives funding for many of their programs. If they take a firm stance on same-sex marriage or homosexuality, they will, I think, be subject to attack by social activists who will insist that the government withdraw funding, because they make those kinds of distinctions," he says.

MPs did amend the bill to protect "good faith" views concerning sexual orientation that are "based on a belief in a religious text." But even that has done little to calm people’s fears.

Clear violation

"That is a clear violation [of the equality provisions] of the Charter," says Rushfeldt. "It says if you are a religious person, you can say things in a certain manner and you’re okay. But if you’re not a religious person, you have no protection."

As the Ottawa Citizen noted, "Bill C-250 might make it possible to prosecute a scientist for promoting hatred of gays in an article in a scientific journal, while a clergyman who denounces homosexuality from the pulpit will be safe from the courts."

And yet Buckingham sees no real protection for anyone in this amendment, since the courts have already rejected the "good faith" defence.

"In two cases they have said, ‘If we find that your communication-your literature, your speech-promoted hatred, then it cannot be considered a good faith comment upon a religious subject,’" she says.

Toews says he will urge the Senate to conduct a full public hearing into Bill C-250, as well as consider amendments to protect academic discussion, professional opinions and comments on teaching materials-and "a much more expansive" amendment to protect the free expression of religious beliefs.

"Senators don’t have to hold public hearings. They can push it through in a few days if they want to," says Buckingham.

"But if they do go through a full hearing process, it’s possible the bill won’t pass before Parliament is dissolved in anticipation of an election."