In recent years, Canada has experienced a considerable rise in hate motivated crimes targeting religious, racialized, and LGBTQ+ communities. In response, the federal government introduced the “Combatting Hate Act” (Bill C-9). This bill is designed to strengthen the criminal law framework for dealing with hate crimes, intimidation, and hate propaganda. This was announced by the Department of Justice in September 2025, and the legislation aims to expand protections for vulnerable communities while providing the crown with clearer and more effective legal tools to address these types of crimes.
This blog examines how the proposed legislative changes affect the prosecution of hate crimes in Canada by focusing on new offences and procedural reforms.
The Need for Legislative Reform
There has been an increase in recent years of threats, vandalism, harassment, and intimidation targeting vulnerable minority groups which has created safety concerns within many communities. The federal government found that the existing legal provisions were not always efficient in addressing the evolving forms of hate-motivated crimes. As a result, this new legislation was introduced with the intent to strengthen Canada’s legal framework against this rising concern. The main way the legislation will do this is by updating the Criminal Code of Canada. This update clearly defines hate-motivated criminal offences and provides new legal tools for crowns to prosecute these cases.
New criminal offences targeting hate-motivated crimes
One of the most significant aspects of the bill is the creation of new criminal offences that explicitly target hate crimes. Here are the three most important changes:
1. Hate-motivated crime as a specific offence
The bill introduces a dedicated offence for crimes that are motivated by hate bias. Previously, crimes motivated by hate were treated primarily as an aggravating factor at sentencing rather than as a distinct criminal offence. By explicitly criminalizing hate crimes, prosecutors can now pursue charges that reflect the discriminatory nature of the crime.
2. Intimidation and Obstructing Access to Religious or Cultural Spaces
The legislation creates an offence for intimidating individuals with the intent of preventing them from accessing places such as places of worship, schools, or community centres. As well, it criminalizes blocking or interfering with access to religious or cultural institutions. For example, deliberately preventing people from entering a mosque, synagogue, church, or cultural centre could constitute a criminal offence under the new framework. Both offences can carry penalties of up to 10 years’ imprisonment.
3. Promotion of hate symbols
The legislation would also make it a crime to wilfully promote hatred against an identifiable group by displaying terrorism or hate symbols in public. This is meant to address concerns about the increasing visibility of extremist symbols in public spaces and how they intimidate targeted communities.
Streamlining the Prosecution Process
The legislation introduces an important procedural reform. Previously, the crown was required to get the consent of the Attorney General before initiating charges for certain hate propaganda offences. Bill C-9 removes this requirement, allowing charges to be laid without additional approval. This change is intended to expedite the prosecution process as well as reduce delays and make it easier for law enforcement to pursue hate related charges.
Balancing Enforcement with Constitutional Rights
Even though there will be an increase in targeting hateful behaviour, the proposed changes will still protect fundamental freedoms. The proposed provisions explicitly state that they do not apply to peaceful protest, lawful expression, or the communication of information (when these activities do not cross the threshold into criminal behaviour). Nevertheless, the legislation has sparked debate among civil liberties groups and legal scholars about how to balance effective hate crime enforcement with freedom of expression and assembly.
Conclusion
If enacted, Bill C-9 could significantly reshape how hate crimes are prosecuted in Canada. Overall, the key anticipated effects include:
- More direct charges for hate motivated crimes rather than relying solely on sentencing enhancements.
- Faster prosecution due to the removal of certain procedural barriers.
- Expanded protection for individuals accessing religious, cultural, and community spaces.
These changes aim to provide law enforcement and prosecutors with stronger legal tools to respond to hate motivated violence and intimidation. For further information about this bill and how it impacts hate crimes in Canada visit this site: https://www.canada.ca/en/department-justice/news/2025/09/canada-introduces-legislation-to-combat-hate-crimes-intimidation-and-obstruction.html
