A threat to our freedom

Last summer, I wrote about the Netherlands and how the Israeli campaign in Gaza and the West Bank affected Dutch democracy. The controversy surrounding Bill C-9 now compels me, reluctantly, to make the same argument about Canada. I notice in both countries a pattern of interrelated events by which Jews are put at risk and Christians are misled. This may sound counterintuitive, but I’ll explain.

At a certain level, Bill C-9 is well-intentioned. Lawmakers want to be seen as doing something against antisemitism, which is, of course, a legitimate concern. Lawmakers must make compromises (even with people with bad ideas) and in this case, that might mean removing the religious exception clause from Canada’s hate speech laws. But that is as far as my sympathy goes.

Freedom to protest

The problem I have with the bill is its move against democratic freedoms, especially the freedom to protest. These concerns have been articulated by Michael Karanicolas in The Globe and Mail (Oct. 27, 2025) and also by Kathy Vandergrift in Christian Courier (Nov. 3, 2025). Bill C-9 criminalizes anyone who is caught “provoking a state of fear” that would impede people’s access to certain institutions, including places of worship, daycares, seniors’ homes, cemeteries and schools. But since almost any protest can be framed as provoking fear, and prison sentences go up to ten years, the legislation could easily be used against any protest that takes place anywhere near the exempted institutions. A protest where you kind of have to dance in a circle on your own turf would not draw any public or media attention; the in-your-face element is essential. Moreover, the right to protest follows directly from international treaties about freedom of association and freedom of expression.

More worryingly still from my perspective, this new law fits into an international pattern of legal measures that have effectively worked to delegitimize pro-Palestinian protesters and encourage the use of excessive police force against them. In the United Kingdom, a pro-Palestinian group has been labelled a terrorist organization even though United Nations experts say this designation is too extreme based on the group’s activities. In Canada, the CJPME Foundation has just released a report describing the disproportionate policing of pro-Palestine demonstrations, and I have heard similar things going on in the Netherlands as well.

Resist authoritarianism

Bill C-9 is a move not so much against religious freedom, but against freedom more broadly. When democracy is under threat from various directions, citizens need to be very concerned. From my perspective, the Liberal government is acting naively at best, and the Conservatives (including the Ontario government) are on the wrong side altogether. After all, true conservatives should care about well-established democratic freedoms and be very reluctant to make any changes in such a turbulent time as this.

I worry that fears of antisemitism are currently being exploited to limit freedom, and that this paradoxically puts Jews at risk more than it protects them. In this situation, Christians and their allies need to examine new ways in which antisemitism, demonization of Islam, and other forms of bias and prejudice have contributed to the challenges of our time. By working together, believers can do their bit to resist authoritarian efforts and prepare for difficult changes to come.