Carney government introducing bill to protect people entering religious, cultural buildings

Prime Minister Mark Carney's government is expected to introduce legislation as early as Tuesday to crack down on people willfully intimidating and obstructing individuals entering places of worship, cultural community centres and schools, CBC News has learned.

A source with knowledge of the government's plans says Ottawa will propose three new offences under Canada's Criminal Code, including creating a new hate crime offence.

Carney promised during his election campaign to respond to what he's called a "horrifying rise in hate" including antisemitism and Islamophobia. He signalled to his caucus this week changes were coming.

"All Canadians must be able to get up, go to work, go to their church, temple, mosque, community centre and then come home and sleep soundly at night," Carney told his MPs in Edmonton on Wednesday.

"And when our laws repeatedly fail to protect those basic rights, we need new laws. This fall we will deliver them."

CBC News has now learned new details about the first of at least three pieces of legislation the Liberals hope to table this fall that involve changes to the country's criminal justice system.

Next week's legislation is expected to propose Criminal Code changes to give police and prosecutors new tools to try and protect people accessing a range of religious and cultural buildings, the source said.

The source says the move is in response to gunshots fired at religious schools, bomb threats at cultural institutions and violence against people going to places of worship.

The number of police-reported hate crimes was up to 4,882 incidents in 2024 compared to 4,828 in 2023, according to Statistics Canada. The number of incidents reported by police increased by almost 85 per cent between 2020 and 2024, according to that data.

Rabbis, imams, church leaders and community members have spoken out about acts of aggression including people banging on windows, vandalizing buildings, sending hate mail and harassing worshippers since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war.

Jewish and Muslim groups have called for governments to create safe "bubble zones" around places of worship after witnessing more hate crimes targeting mosques, synagogues and Jewish institutions.

Toronto passed a controversial bylaw earlier this year to restrict protests around daycares, schools and places of worship after months of demonstrations following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel and Israel's bombardment of Gaza. Some argued the new protest bylaw didn't go far enough to protect vulnerable groups while others said it infringed on people's right to protest.

Justice Minister and Attorney General Sean Fraser said the federal government doesn't have the jurisdiction to prevent people from being in a particular place, but can take other action.

"Criminalizing morally culpable behaviour that may take place in proximity to those institutions or elsewhere is something that we do have the authority to move forward with," Fraser told reporters on Thursday outside a Liberal caucus meeting.

A source says the government is expected to propose a new intimidation offence that would make it illegal to try and scare people so they won't access religious or cultural buildings used by identifiable groups.

WATCH | Justice minister on potential Criminal Code changes:

Justice Minister Sean Fraser said the federal government is not responsible for 'regulating the ability of people to be in a particular place,' but is seeking to add criminal provisions prohibiting the obstruction of facilities such as synagogues and mosques.

A new obstruction offence would also be created to prohibit people from willfully blocking or obstructing someone's access to those properties, the source said.

To avoid infringing Charter rights, the source said, there would be an exemption so people can advocate and protest as long as it's lawful.

It will be up to the court to decide what properties fall under this offence, the source said. Churches, mosques, synagogues, religious or secular daycares and schools would qualify, the source said, but so might cultural centres, community centres and 2SLGBTQ+ spaces if they are primarily used by an identifiable group.

The government is also expected to propose a separate offence for anyone committing any other crimes while motivated by hatred because of someone's race, religion or sex, the source said.

"We are looking to establish new measures that would address hate more broadly that is coupled with other criminal behaviour that may take place regardless of its proximity to a particular faith-based institution," Fraser hinted on Thursday.

The government faced criticism in the past over its Online Harms Act, Bill C-63, that proposed a similar kind of hate crime offence. Some raised concerns the offence could lead to a penalty of life imprisonment. Others worried the offence could put those accused under pressure to falsely plead guilty to lesser charges.

The source says to address those concerns, the government is expected to propose an escalating sentence structure. Hate would also be defined and wouldn't include disliking, offending or humiliating someone, the source said.