Overview
- The Senate passed Bill C‑9 by a 45‑13 vote on Friday, approving an amendment from Sen. Wanda Thomas Bernard that criminalizes public displays of nooses and white pointed hoods as symbols of anti‑Black racism.
- A government spokesperson said Justice Minister Sean Fraser's office intends to accept the noose amendment, which means the amended bill must return to the House of Commons for the government to accept or reject the changes.
- The full Senate declined to restore a committee proposal to create a new offence for residential‑school denialism, removing that provision from the version now headed back to the House.
- Bill C‑9 also creates two new obstruction and intimidation offences that ban conduct that impedes access to places of worship or cultural sites and sets penalties of up to 10 years in prison, a move critics say risks criminalizing sincere religious practice.
- The return to the Commons leaves open a sharp political fight over the bill's scope, with civil‑liberties groups warning of chilling effects, Indigenous leaders split on denialism rules, and legal experts predicting Charter challenges if the law is enacted.