It appears that issues related to housing, food prices, energy nationalism, and tariffs have been supplanted – if only temporarily – by a group of Conservative MPs, including Elgin-St. Thomas-London South MP, Andrew Lawton.
The hot-button issue of late appears to be religious freedom, and Lawton has been busy appearing at and hosting town hall meetings across the country, including an event this week in Saskatoon.
Some MPs, particularly in Ontario and BC, are pushing back against Bill C-9, an Act to amend the Criminal Code (hate propaganda, hate crime and access to religious or cultural places.)
Some religious leaders believe the bill could remove a key legal protection for people of faith. Bill C-9 has been amended to remove religious defence under the Criminal Code. See the item below from David Goodwin.

MP Lawton sits on the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, which is in the process of undertaking a clause-by-clause review of Bill C-9.
He has already held a couple of meetings with local faith leaders in the riding, and we caught up with him this week while he was in Saskatoon at a religious freedom rally (see photo below).

“We had a meeting on this bill shortly before Christmas, and we had about a dozen faith leaders come out.
“And then we had a larger one just yesterday afternoon (earlier this week) at the CASO station. We had about 35 people show up.
Lawton continued, “So this is all about Bill C-9, and one of the amendments that was adopted shortly before the House rose for the winter break has raised concerns among people of faith, all faiths, not just Christianity, and I wanted to answer questions, share updates about what we’re doing and explain as much as I’m able to.
“We’ve engaged with people of every denomination and faith imaginable on this, Muslims, various Indian faiths and Christians.

“Faith leaders are very concerned about their ability to preach, their ability to quote scripture, and we’re trying to make sure that we protect religious freedom and freedom of expression for all members of the community and the country.”

“There’s not really a large Jewish community in St. Thomas, but I’ve spoken to Jewish community members and leaders in London. So definitely a large cross-section.
“There are a lot of concerns with the bill, but I think the biggest one and the reason there has been such an interest in people talking about this has been the removal of the religious defence from the criminal code under Section 319.”
Lawton pointed out, “You cannot be charged right now with willfully promoting hate if you were citing in good faith – and that’s a really crucial part – a religious view or quoting in good faith a religious text. Understanding that we need to have broad latitude for saying things that people might find controversial or even offensive, so that we can have these discussions in society.”
Adding context, Lawton continued with, “Faith leaders are very concerned about their ability to preach, their ability to quote scripture, and we’re trying to make sure that we protect religious freedom and freedom of expression for all members of the community and the country.
“When we had a Justice Committee meeting back in the fall, Mark Miller (MP for Ville-Marie-Le Sud-Ouest-Ile-des Soeurs), who was at the time the Liberal chair of the committee, had said there are certain verses of the Bible that are inherently hateful, and prosecutors should be able to, “press charges if you cite them.”
“And he mentioned Leviticus, Deuteronomy, and Romans. This was very concerning for people because faith leaders, in particular, know that the Bible, the Torah, and the Quran, all of these holy books, are preaching a message that is very positive.
“And you can’t cherry-pick and take things out of context. But faith leaders need to have the latitude to have those discussions. They need to be able to freely discuss and debate amongst themselves and actually use scripture to call out if they think someone is misrepresenting it.

“Because when you have government redefining what hate means, and that’s what Bill C-9 does, it redefines hate, as far as the way the law views it, that is going to make it more difficult for people to determine what is allowed to be said and what is not.”

“So whenever you have politicians talking about how it should be illegal to quote from a holy book and a law that actually makes it easier to prosecute people for doing that, there’s no way that isn’t an infringement on religious freedom.”
Lawton stressed, “We are trying to, in opposing Bill C-9, protect that separation of church and state. We’re trying to make sure that the state is not intervening in what can be preached and forcing its way behind the pulpit.
“The comments that I got from the faith leaders that I spoke to, for starters, were grateful that I was there to answer these questions because a lot of what’s being discussed is very complex and technical and legal.
“So I think it was valuable even just to know that I was advocating for this, not just locally, but I’m also very involved as a member of the committee in the national discussion on this. They are still concerned about it, but the whole point was also to share with people that there is a way to express those concerns and a way to hopefully push back.
“So what we’ve been encouraging people to do is reach out to their Members of Parliament and reach out to Liberal Members of Parliament as well, because it’s the Liberal bill right now that is before the House, and the Liberals can decide to withdraw this and find ways to protect communities from hate and harm.
Lawton wrapped up the conversation with these observations.
“Because when you have government redefining what hate means, and that’s what Bill C-9 does, it redefines hate, as far as the way the law views it, that is going to make it more difficult for people to determine what is allowed to be said and what is not.
“And it’s going to put an added strain and pressure on law enforcement that they did not ask for.
“And our point here is that we don’t believe politicians are the ones who should be governing how houses of worship operate and what beliefs they express.
“And I will say, too, this religious defence in the criminal code that Bill C-9 removes, is not a trump card that lets you do or say anything as long as you claim it was because of your religion.
“It applies in a very narrow set of circumstances, and that’s why we believe it is so important to protect this so that we can protect religious freedoms that everyone in this country should be able to enjoy.
“And I mentioned in the committee just how rich the tapestry of faith communities is in St. Thomas and Elgin, from the Mennonites who’ve settled and come from Mexico and Eastern Europe, and the Indian community, Sikh and Hindu that gather together in the same temple on Redan Street, to Catholic and Protestant, and of course the Quakers of Sparta.
“All of these faith communities have so much to offer to our community. They’re so involved in philanthropy and food drives and affordable housing and all of these things, and they need to be protected, and their values and beliefs need to be protected.”
We took Lawton’s advice and connected with David Goodwin, the Liberal candidate for the riding in last year’s federal election.
See the item below.

‘CANADA’S COMMITMENT TO FREEDOM OF RELIGION REMAINS FIRM’

In response to the town hall meetings being held to voice concerns over Bill C-9, David Goodwin forwarded us a copy of a letter that appeared this week in the Aylmer Express.
We have also obtained from Goodwin an outline of 10 myths related to Bill C-9 and whether it attacks religious freedom in this country, and we will present that in this corner next week.
As a teaser, Myth 6: The hate-crime offence jails people for opinion.
Fact: The hate-crime offence applies only when a separate federal offence is committed (e.g. assault, mischief) and it’s motivated by hatred. The penalties scale with the underlying offence’s seriousness. It does not criminalize mere opinions or insults.

Here is the transcript of Goodwin’s letter.
“Communities across Canada are experiencing a concerning rise in hate-motivated intimidation and violence.
“Bill C-9, introduced by the Liberal government, aims to strengthen protections so that everyone can live, worship and express their beliefs freely and without fear.
“Some information being shared in our riding about the Bill suggests it may have negative implications for religious communities.
“It’s important to look closely at the legislation itself.
“Canada’s commitment to freedom of religion remains firm. Freedom of religion and expression is protected under Section 2 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and nothing in Bill C-9 changes that.
“The Charter already provides the protections that made the former ‘good faith’ religious exemption unnecessary.

“Community leaders play an important role in helping people understand complex issues. My hope is that discussions about this Bill are grounded in accurate information and a shared commitment to supporting one another.”

“Canadians will continue to be fully protected in their right to pray, preach, interpret scripture, gather in community and express their beliefs.
“To be clear: expressing sincerely held religious beliefs will not become a crime. The amendments to the Criminal Code do not restrict anyone’s ability to worship or practice their faith.
“It’s also important to note that this Bill was created with the intention of protecting religious communities and addressing hate directed toward them.
“I encourage everyone to review Bill C-9 directly to understand what it contains. The legislation is available on the Parliamentary website.
“Community leaders play an important role in helping people understand complex issues. My hope is that discussions about this Bill are grounded in accurate information and a shared commitment to supporting one another.”
As a point of interest, it is worth visiting Andrew Lawton’s Facebook page to read comments, like the following from Dianne Crew, United Church of Canada, who studied Master of Divinity at Atlantic School of Theology in Halifax.
“As a clergy in a Christian denomination in Canada, it is disgraceful how this bill is deliberately misinforming others on its meaning and content. This is an excellent bill that needs to be passed and acted upon.
“If you have studied any theology and especially homiletics, it is important that preachers of Sacred Scriptures are correctly interpreted, after much study, and the work of the Holy Spirit in that process.
“Minister Miller is right in his understanding of Scripture, including the Bible, that there are certainly verses in the Bible that could be wrongly interpreted and used to justify hatred and prejudices, even violence against other groups in society.
“We certainly need to take a long, hard look at where that has happened in the past and will continue to happen into the future, if this bill does not come to fruition.
“Enough people have been wrongfully judged. Let this bill stand and stop misleading people. Your lack of knowledge of theology is easily recognized by people who are theologians.
“Stop playing politics with this issue.”

GOOD REVIEWS FOR WINTER LEVEE

“It was a very positive, exceptionally positive day. So I was quite pleased.”
Mayor Joe Preston’s reaction to last Saturday’s Mayor’s Winter Levee at the Horton Farmer’s Market, an opportunity to have a one-on-one dialogue with the mayor, members of council and city administrators. See photo below, courtesy Establish Media.

As to public reaction at the levee, Preston felt “there was probably an equal number of people that suggested we slow down just a little (related to city growth) and an equal number of people that said keep going, keep doing what we’re doing.
“So I think we’re hitting a sweet spot.”
And the timing of the levee couldn’t have been better, following on the heels of PowerCo announcing steel fabrication work was underway at its massive EV gigafactory in the Yarmouth Yards industrial park.
“I talked to a number of people who I’ve suggested thought this was never going to happen. And here we are now, concrete in the ground and steel going up. So I’ll be looking for the apology from that group.
As for what seems like never-ending roadwork, Preston observed, “There are those who would like there to never be road construction, except they don’t want potholes or bad streets, either.
“Some construction, once you dig a hole in the ground, you find something that you didn’t know was there. And it will take you a little longer to complete it.”
Case in point was the broken water main in front of city hall during the reconstruction of Talbot Street.
The levee also beefed up attendance at the Horton Market last Saturday, perhaps introducing city residents to the venue for the first time.
So, will the levee become an annual event in St. Thomas?
“I’d love to have this as another annual tool for transparency. You know, we do the home show in the same way. We do other events like Nostalgia Nights and Oktoberfest where we’re out on the street in person.
“But I love this one too. Just come on down and, you know, it is Festivus, so we had the airing of grievances.”
MP Andrew Lawton and MPP Rob Flack were also in attendance, observed Preston.
“As close as I am to the other levels of government, I don’t get to spend that kind of casual time very often, having a quick talk or any of the citizens can come up and talk to the MPP and the mayor at the same time, it was really quite unique.
“And I’d much rather enjoy dealing with issues the minute they come up, you know, as straight as we can. Just to give more opportunity for people who have never met us to come and share with us some of their views on our city. It’s just worth millions of dollars, and it sure doesn’t cost us that to do that.”
Preston continued, “I find more people who are fairly new to our community, who now say, ‘I’m glad I met you. Here’s what I used to do. Do you have a spot around where I could volunteer?’
“They wouldn’t think of asking it in an email or on a phone call, but when you meet them face to face, they go, well, I’d like to, I’d like to help in some other way.
“And boy, we’ve paired a pile of people up with The INN or with what Indwell’s working on or some of our service clubs that are always looking for great help, so it’s just nice to also get the fresh face of those new to St. Thomas.”
We’ll continue our conversation with Preston next week on the plight of the city’s two cemeteries.

THE ECHO CHAMBER

On the future of the Elgin County Railway Museum, Larry Broadbent submitted the following on Facebook.

“Yes, a plan and partners for the stabilization are needed. No one is going to come to the plate and help unless there is a business plan in place. That’s what the board is striving for.
“Unfortunately, the building is closed now, but looking on the bright side, they are going have to get planning.”

And Dave Mathers would like this question answered regarding proceeds from the sale of land west of the museum to developer Doug Tarry.

“The bigger question here is where did the $2.4 million go?”

Questions and comments may be emailed to City Scope

Visit us on Facebook

And a reminder, I can be heard weekday afternoons as news anchor and reporter on 94.1 myFM in St. Thomas. As always, your comments and input are appreciated.