ARPA Canada | Bill C-51: Disrupting a Worship Service

07 Nov 2017 Update: ARPA Canada asks Justice Committee to keep explicit protection for worship services

**UPDATE: The Justice Committee decided to leave section 176 alone after receiving overwhelming response from the public and our supporters. We are very thankful for this development.** The Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights is currently studying Bill C-51. This bill is meant to clean up Canada’s Criminal Code by removing outdated, unconstitutional, and redundant provisions. Much of the discussion of the Committee has been on one particular provision – clause 14 of the Bill proposes to remove section 176 of the Criminal Code. That section prohibits obstructing a religious...

07 Nov 2017 Do worship services deserve special protection in law?

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ARPA's Director of Law and Policy, André Schutten ARPA's Director of Law and Policy, André Schutten, appeared before Parliament's Justice Committee last week, arguing against a change to the Criminal Code. As part of a new law called Bill C-51, the government wants to remove a section of the Criminal Code that expressly prohibits anyone from interfering with a religious service that's in progress, and also protects members of the clergy from being harassed or interfered with on their way to or from a religious service. The government argues that this kind...

25 Jul 2017 Calgary MP launches petition to save Criminal Code clause protecting worship services from protests and disruptions

Posted at 06:00h in Bills and Motions, Fundamental Freedoms 0 Comments

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Tom Kmiec, MP A Calgary MP has launched an official House of Commons e-Petition on Bill C-51. That's the law we told you about earlier this summer on Lighthouse News. It would specifically repeal Section 176 of the Criminal Code, which makes it a crime to disrupt any worship service, or to assault or prevent anyone from conducting such a service. Conservative MP Tom Kmiec isn't buying the various arguments the government is using to defend the new law. The government says the issue is already covered in prohibitions against causing a...

27 Jun 2017 LN Feature: Disrupting Church Services

Posted at 06:00h in Bills and Motions, Fundamental Freedoms 0 Comments

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ARPA's Director of Law and Policy, André Schutten As we told you a few months ago on Lighthouse News, the federal government is making a move to eliminate so-called “zombie laws”. These are essentially old laws which are no longer in effect. The most common reason for their obsolescence is that they’ve been struck down by the court. While those laws are technically still on the books, they have become unenforceable, so they need to be removed to reflect that reality. But earlier this month, the federal Liberals introduced a second...

26 Jun 2017 Will Bill C-51 permit protests in church services?

Posted at 12:59h in Bills and Motions, Fundamental Freedoms 1 Comment

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Take Action: Send an EasyMail letter to share your concerns about Bill C-51 with your MP Did you know that Canada’s Criminal Code (section 176) prohibits obstructing a “clergyman or minister” from “celebrating divine service or performing any other function in connection with his calling” or disturbing “an assemblage of persons met for religious worship”? That prohibition might not be there for long. A new government bill, Bill C-51 (which has passed its second reading and has been referred to committee), would delete these prohibitions from the Code. Would that mean removing legal protection for churches...

Bill C-51: Disrupting a Worship Service Tag

07 Nov 2017 Update: ARPA Canada asks Justice Committee to keep explicit protection for worship services

07 Nov 2017 Do worship services deserve special protection in law?

25 Jul 2017 Calgary MP launches petition to save Criminal Code clause protecting worship services from protests and disruptions

27 Jun 2017 LN Feature: Disrupting Church Services

26 Jun 2017 Will Bill C-51 permit protests in church services?

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