Freedom of speech – Blazingcatfur

Removal of Religious Exemption to Hate Speech Laws Would Lead to ‘Open Season on Christians,’ Professor Tells Senators

Wilfrid Laurier University professor David Haskell says proposed legislation that removes religious exemption to hate speech laws would be detrimental to the rights of Christians in Canada, which he argues are already under sustained attack.

Haskell’s comments came during a recent hearing on Bill C-9 before the Senate committee on human rights, and were joined by criticisms from several other expert witnesses who said the bill is too vague to effectively counter hateful incidents or so open to interpretation that it risks infringing on basic civil liberties.

“If this Criminal Code protection is removed, it will be open season on Christians, as ideological opponents increasingly claim [Christians’] beliefs harm society,” Haskell told senators, adding that “it will lead to even more discrimination against Christians in Canada and negatively affect the social good they contribute.”

by Blazingcatfur•May 28, 2026May 27, 2026•0•freedom of religious expression, Freedom of speech

“I was found guilty of ‘insult’ for a publication in which I peacefully shared my Christian beliefs”—Finnish Parliamentarian Päivi Räsänen

For years, Europe presented freedom of expression as one of its most recognisable political hallmarks. Almost a foundational principle: the right to express uncomfortable, even unpopular opinions, provided they did not involve violence or coercion. The problem begins when that principle collides with newer and more open-ended legal categories, particularly those linked to hate speech. That is precisely where Päivi Räsänen’s case begins.

by Blazingcatfur•May 26, 2026May 26, 2026•0•Freedom of speech

Trump’s free speech tsar: We’re flooded by complaints from Britons

British citizens are flocking to a website set up by the Trump administration to bypass online-safety laws because they are living under a government “hostile to freedom of speech”, a senior US official has said.

Sarah Rogers, the under-secretary for public diplomacy and public affairs at the State Department, said freedom.gov had received significant interest from British users.

by Blazingcatfur•May 22, 2026May 21, 2026•0•freedom of religious expression, Freedom of speech, UK, USA

Orwell’s Europe – Part I

In Europe, recently, it was found that a news outlet that had published a speech by US Vice President J.D. Vance has now been accused of journalistic misconduct. In February 2025, Vance gave his now famous speech at the Munich Security Conference, in which he sharply criticized Europe’s heavy-handed censorship and its rapidly deteriorating democratic values. The next day, Belgian news website 21News published Vance’s speech in full, without commentary.

by Blazingcatfur•May 18, 2026May 18, 2026•0•Freedom, Freedom of speech, Freedom of the press

Finnish MP To Appeal ‘Hate Speech’ Conviction to Strasbourg

Finnish MP Päivi Räsänen announced today that she will take her conviction for “insulting a group” to the European Court of Human Rights, setting up a test of how far free speech and religious expression are protected under European law.

The Finnish Supreme Court found her guilty in March 2026, by a narrow 3–2 majority, for disseminating a 2004 pamphlet to her religious community. In that text, Räsänen outlined the Christian conception of marriage as a union between a man and a woman and questioned certain practices from that doctrinal perspective.

BREAKING: Christian Finnish parliamentarian Päivi Räsänen, who was criminally convicted for “hate speech” by her country’s Supreme Court for a church booklet she wrote decades ago, has today announced that she will appeal her case to the European Court of Human Rights. pic.twitter.com/pQgsNZdRAb

— ADF International (@ADFIntl) May 7, 2026

by Blazingcatfur•May 8, 2026May 7, 2026•0•freedom of religious expression, Freedom of speech

Commons tracks Canadians’ Facebook posts about MPs in internal security files

House of Commons officials are keeping detailed internal records on what Canadians say about their elected representatives online, including comments posted to social media, according to testimony at a parliamentary committee.

Deputy Sergeant-at-Arms Paul Mellon told MPs the Commons maintains what he described as a “very robust records management system” that catalogues incidents involving members of Parliament, including online remarks that may be critical or offensive.

by Blazingcatfur•May 4, 2026May 4, 2026•0•"Surveillance Society", Canada's Corrupt Liberal Government, Freedom of speech

Michael Higgins: Canada’s most dangerous professor

Prof. Frances Widdowson has reserved a special place for the University of Lethbridge in her “Halls of Shame” list — the places she says are the worst for free speech and academic freedom.

Her view may be coloured by the fact that for treading the halls of that academy last week she was handcuffed and hit with a $600 fine for trespassing.

UPDATE: Dr. Widdowson Speaks Out After Arrest: “Warning Sign of Growing Totalitarianism in Canada”
After being arrested at the University of Lethbridge and released from custody with what a $600 trespass ticket, Dr. Frances Widdowson called on Alberta Premier @ABDanielleSmith to… pic.twitter.com/v0uIc7qG1g

— Mocha Bezirgan 🇨🇦 (@BezirganMocha) April 26, 2026

by Blazingcatfur•April 29, 2026April 28, 2026•0•Freedom of speech

President Trump Make Us An Offer!

Sliding into tyranny, one sunny way at a time. @fancypants_s https://t.co/FaRfwQQXjL

— Patti Jo (@TheSupeHero) April 23, 2026

Spread the word: Protests against Bill C-9 taking place across Canada on May 1

We’re entering a critical stretch in the fight against the Liberal government’s anti-religion Bill C-9.

This legislation directly threatens our fundamental freedoms of expression and religion, including the ability of Christians to live out their beliefs without fear of government prosecution.

Certain Bible passages will be effectively banned as “hate speech” if C-9 passes in the Senate.

Carney is making annexation more attractive by the day.

I hope the US accepts us as political refugees.

h/t Patti Jo

by Blazingcatfur•April 23, 2026April 23, 2026•0•"Surveillance Society", Freedom, freedom of religious expression, Freedom of speech

A New Online Harms Act Would Mean Canadians Talk Less Freely

Once it was confirmed that, for the first time, Canada would be ruled by a majority government achieved through floor-crossing, it didn’t take long for talk of a renewed Online Harms Act to be proposed.

Heritage Minister Marc Miller was approached after his party—thanks to winning three byelections to hold seats it had previously won in last year’s election and gaining five floor-crossing MPs—had turned a minority government into a majority with unfettered legislative power.

by Blazingcatfur•April 20, 2026April 19, 2026•0•"Because Shut Up!", "Cancel Culture", "Surveillance Society", freedom of religious expression, Freedom of speech

Self-censorship has become the safest form of expression

A few years ago, I was in New York with my 21-year-old daughter. We visited museums, ate at great restaurants, did some shopping. During our trip, she found a pair of sandals made of embroidered Chinese fabric and fell in love with them.

But that summer, I noticed she never wore them. When I asked why, she said: “I just feel like there’s a chance I’ll offend someone.”

by Blazingcatfur•April 16, 2026April 15, 2026•0•"Cancel Culture", Freedom Of Information, freedom of religious expression, Freedom of speech

Democrats Aren’t Far Behind Canada In Efforts To Ban Christian Speech

Canada’s dominant Liberal Party has introduced legislation that may soon make Christian speech illegal.

In March, the Canadian House of Commons passed Bill C-9, also known as the “Combatting Hate Act.” The bill was introduced under the guise of mitigating antisemitic attacks in the wake of Hamas’ violent attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Liberals claimed it was developed to protect religious communities, but C-9 eagerly expanded to prohibit public displays of “hate,” including “Islamophobia, homophobia, and transphobia.” The Canadian Liberals have used so-called hate speech as a Trojan horse to enact censorship laws — the same thing American Democrats are trying to do here.

by Blazingcatfur•April 14, 2026April 13, 2026•0•Canada, freedom of religious expression, Freedom of speech, USA

Canada Poised To Criminalize Christianity With Ban On Citing Biblical Truths

Leftists may claim that they work for the common good, but what really drives them is often nothing less than religious fanaticism.

Case in point: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and his new anti-Christian bill (C-9). Not content with the current hate speech laws in force in Canada, Carney is pushing stricter restrictions on speech with a new law that would prohibit using religious texts as a defense of speech the left deems offensive. According to a report in The Telegraph, “Bill C-9, the Act is a wide-ranging piece of legislation aimed at targeting what Carney’s government claims is ‘rising anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, homophobia and transphobia.’”

by Blazingcatfur•April 12, 2026April 11, 2026•0•Canada, Canada's Corrupt Liberal Government, freedom of religious expression, Freedom of speech

After Oct. 7, hate-speech laws looked like the answer. Europe shows why they aren’t

On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas carried out the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust, recording the horrors and sharing them online. The attack triggered a bloody Israeli invasion of Gaza that killed tens of thousands of Palestinians. It also had immediate consequences far beyond the region.

In Canada, Jewish communities experienced what Deborah Lyons, the former Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism, called an “unprecedented wave” of antisemitism involving “harassment, intimidation, threats of violence” and a near tripling of hate crimes. In Europe, pro-Palestinian demonstrations were marred by antisemitic chants. In Berlin, a synagogue was attacked with firebombs while Stars of David were scrawled on apartments housing Jews, reminiscent of Nazi intimidation.

I had a call with @OttawaPolice today. I was told if I don’t delete my X posts where I say Mosques in Occupied Iran are hubs of terrorism and should be bombed, I would be charged under the Criminal Code of Canada.

So I deleted my posts.

Meanwhile, Mosques in Occupied Iran: pic.twitter.com/TAL1z1Pg0i

— Goldie Ghamari | گلسا قمری 🇮🇷 (@gghamari) April 8, 2026

by Blazingcatfur•April 10, 2026April 9, 2026•0•Canada's Corrupt Liberal Government, Freedom, freedom of religious expression, Freedom of speech

Europe now treats Christian views as criminal

In what has become known as the ‘Bible trial’, Christian politician Päivi Räsänen was criminally convicted last week of ‘hate speech’ in Finland’s Supreme Court. Her successful prosecution was based on a 21-year-old church pamphlet, which simply re-stated Christian sexual ethics. The verdict, the culmination of a seven-year witch hunt carried out by Finnish authorities, is perhaps the clearest illustration yet of Europe’s censorship crisis.

by Blazingcatfur•April 6, 2026April 5, 2026•0•Christian Persecution, Christianity and the left, Finland, freedom of religious expression, Freedom of speech

Why Carney’s liberals are going to war with the Bible

Pastor Derek Reimer is not liberal Canada’s favourite free-speech champion. The Bible-bashing leader of Calgary’s Mission 7 ministry has waged a one-man war on his government’s progressive, LGBTQ-friendly agenda – especially its promotion of transgender rights.

In 2023, he was arrested three times after protesting against “family-friendly” storytime events at Calgary’s public libraries, in which local drag queens read to children. He denounced it all as “pervert grooming sessions”, and told a librarian that if she carried on “corrupting kids”, he would post her details online. He also quoted from Deuteronomy 22:5, which states: “A woman shall not wear a man’s garment, nor shall a man put on a woman’s cloak.”

So far, his protests have earned him a conviction for harassment, more than 100 days in jail, and limited sympathy from the wider public – who, whatever their views on transgender issues, often see his methods as extreme.

Yet in recent months, his name has frequently been cited in a growing row over freedom of speech – centred around a planned new law that would remove the right of religious activists to quote scripture as a defence against hate crime charges.

(more…)

by Blazingcatfur•April 3, 2026April 3, 2026•0•"Surveillance Society", Canada's Corrupt Liberal Government, freedom of religious expression, Freedom of speech, hate crimes