Bill C-9 Passes Parliament: An Important Step Forward
- ALCCA Staff
- Jun 18
- 2 min read
This week, Bill C-9, The Combatting Hate Act, was passed by Parliament and will receive Royal Assent almost immediately.
When it was first introduced, it contained several provisions that would have undermined its benefits to our community. ALCCA's Chair Mark Sandler, through his own expert testimony, and in collaboration with many of our Jewish and non-Jewish members, and Jewish legacy organizations, played a crucial leadership role in advocating for needed amendments and ultimately for passage of the legislation. He also worked closely with our Hindu allies and others to ensure that religious freedoms were respected in the final legislation.
Bill C-9 is far from a complete answer to the scourge of antisemitic hate crimes. ALCCA, and our Chair, who is also a member of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP) special purpose committee on hate crimes, will continue to advocate for robust and consistent enforcement of existing and new criminal law measures.
Our Chair has also taken the lead in seeking the introduction of a new crime of wilful promotion of terrorism, carefully crafted to address material support for listed terrorist entities. This proposed crime is already supported by the CACP, by many community organizations and by MPs in several political parties.
Although there were different views in our community about Bill C-9, we hope that everyone will unite in promoting robust and consistent enforcement of the law and a new offence of wilful promotion of terrorism. The needs have never been greater.
In that spirit, ALCCA joined six other organizations in issuing a joint statement welcoming the passage of Bill C-9 as an important step forward while emphasizing that stronger and more consistent enforcement must now follow.
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