Sitting 97 — March 23, 2026

The sitting was dominated by debate on two government bills: the Combatting Hate Act (Bill C-9) and, in private members’ business, the Jail Not Bail Act (Bill C-242). The central political argument pitted the government and the Bloc Québécois, who argued that Bill C-9 would strengthen tools against rising hate crimes, against the Conservatives, who argued the bill would erode religious freedom and free expression. On bail reform, the government defended its own Bill C-14 as a constitutional alternative to the Conservative private member’s bill.

The main Government Orders business was report-stage debate on Bill C-9, the Combatting Hate Act. The bill would create new offences for obstructing access to places of worship, codify a definition of hatred, and create a stand-alone hate crime offence. The central dispute was over a Bloc-supported amendment, adopted in committee, to remove the long-standing good-faith religious defence from the Criminal Code’s hate propaganda provisions. The government and the Bloc argued that the defence allowed hate speech to be cloaked in religion and pointed to the case of a Montreal imam who called for the extermination of Zionists without being charged. The Conservatives, supported by the Green Party leader, argued the removal would chill religious speech and could lead to prosecutions for quoting scripture; they cited opposition from hundreds of faith organizations and civil liberties groups. The government rejected that concern, noting the Charter of Rights and Freedoms already protects religious freedom. A Conservative motion to delete the short title of the bill was debated but not decided. The government also raised a point of order arguing that three Conservative amendments adopted in committee on Bill C-8, a cybersecurity bill, exceeded the scope of that bill; the Conservatives reserved their right to respond.

In private members’ business, the House debated Bill C-242, the Jail Not Bail Act, a Conservative bill that would replace the principle of restraint in the Criminal Code with a principle of public safety, create a new category of major offences with a presumption of detention, and impose stricter bail conditions for non-citizens. The Conservatives argued the bill was needed to stop repeat violent offenders from being released, citing rising violent crime and the failure of the government’s Bill C-14. The government and the Bloc argued that Bill C-242 would be unconstitutional, would duplicate measures already in Bill C-14, and would create court backlogs. The Bloc also raised concerns about the bill’s treatment of non-citizens and the removal of judicial discretion. A recorded division on the bill was requested.

Oral Questions focused on the economy and employment, with the Conservatives repeatedly citing the loss of 108,000 full-time jobs in February and the layoff of 1,000 workers at Algoma Steel. They accused the government of giving Canada the worst economic performance in the G7. The government ministers blamed global factors, including the tariff war and the war in the Middle East, and pointed to investments in defence, the auto sector, and a new major projects office. A second major theme was public safety, where the Conservatives criticized the government for failing to hire 1,000 new RCMP officers as promised, citing an Auditor General report showing a 3,400-officer shortage. The government replied that the first cohort of new officers would graduate shortly. On justice, the Bloc criticized the government’s challenge to Quebec’s Bill 21 at the Supreme Court, arguing it was an attack on the notwithstanding clause and Quebec’s autonomy. The government said it was defending the Charter and that the case was before the courts. On immigration, the Conservatives cited an Auditor General report finding 150,000 cases of foreign student permit fraud; the minister said the government welcomed the report and was improving oversight.