MONCTON, NB-Churches should avoid public criticism of identifiable groups and their activities, says charity lawyer Bruce Long.

Long, who practices with the Orangeville, Ontario firm Carter and Associates, was speaking to a group of Christian leaders gathered for a one-day Law and Church Leadership Seminar held May 14 at Moncton Wesleyan Church.

New legislation like Bill C-250 will have a major impact on charitable organizations, including churches, mosques and temples, Long warns. Some fear the so-called "hate bill" could put people who speak out against homosexuality at risk of arrest and prosecution.

Bill C-250 will "repress sincerely held beliefs of many well meaning and conscientious Canadian citizens," he says.

Until it becomes clear how the courts interpret Bill C-250, Long suggests pastors and churches: avoid public criticisms of identifiable groups or their activities, limit opinions to private conversations, continue to express views to M.P.s and if targeted or investigated, rely on constitutional right to remain silent, particularly in the initial stages of an investigation.

Those suggestions didn’t sit well with some of those attending the seminar.

"While this may be prudent legal advice-amounting to ‘take cover and don’t say or do anything that may attract attention’-I cannot convince myself that it is sound advice theologically," says Lois Mitchell, director of Public Witness and Social Concerns for the Convention of Atlantic Baptist Churches and Canadian Baptist Ministries.

"It is difficult to imagine how we can speak either prophetically or pastorally to our congregations, let alone our communities, under such restrictions!"

Long says even the usual defences against defamation may not hold up in court, should a church or religious leader be investigated.

A person "can be convicted even if his or her statements were made in good faith, were true, benefited the public, were stated to buttress an opinion on a religious subject or were made to remove hateful feelings toward an identifiable group," says Long. The bill "will definitely affect the free flow of discussion about sexual orientation and related topics."

"It should be noted," he adds, "that academic instructors who might wish to discuss such topics as the causes of homosexuality, genetic or learned, are subject to the same parameters as the church, temple or mosque."

Some Canadians felt the effect of the law before it was officially legislated, he says, pointing to the example of Saskatchewan resident Hugh Owens. Owens was charged and fined in 2001 after he paid for a newspaper advertisement featuring passages of Scripture a court later deemed hateful toward homosexuals.

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