From the Most "Transparent" Government In the Country's History

Shutting people up one bill, one obfuscation, one act at a time:

The Liberals proposed to add “clarifying language” to their contentious bill targeting hate and terror symbols Monday that they say will protect religious speech from being deemed promotion of hate.

But Conservatives say the proposed change is meaningless as Bill C-9 remains stuck in committee study while parties argue over a controversial deal between the Liberals and Bloc Québécois to remove the religious exemption from hate-speech laws.

Bill C-9, Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government’s first major justice bill, proposes to create a new offence for intimidating someone to the point of blocking their access to a place of worship or another centre used by an identifiable group. It would also criminalize the act of promoting hate by displaying a hate or terror symbol, such as one tied to a listed terrorist organization or a swastika.

(Sidebar: which is a symbol of the sun in Buddhism, by the way.) 

But the legislation has been stuck in the Commons justice committee since November as Liberals, Conservatives and the Bloc argue over the effects of a major amendment passed by the government and the Bloc.

The Liberals agreed to a Bloc proposal to amend C-9 to remove what is commonly referred to as the “religious exemption” to some hate speech laws.

Currently, section 319 of the Criminal Code exempts individuals from being convicted of promoting hateful or antisemitic speech if they expressed “in good faith” an opinion “based on a belief in a religious text.”

While the amendment was meant to secure Bloc support for the bill, it led to an uproar from Conservatives, civil rights and many faith groups, further stalling the legislation.

Since then, committee meetings on C-9 have been cancelled at the last minute or have been set aside to study another bill as parties negotiate a way forward behind the scenes.

Conservative MP Andrew Scheer speaks to the media at a foyer of House of Commons in West Block of Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026.

On Monday, the Liberals presented a new olive branch to Conservatives by proposing to add “clarifying language” to the bill that aims to address the concerns raised “sincerely” by faith groups, legal experts and civil society, Liberal MP Patricia Lattanzio told committee.

Scrap the whole damn thing.

It's a censorship bill and wedge for more censorship.

They all damn well know it.

Oh, it gets better:

A federal hate crimes bill would outlaw “obstruction” of Indigenous sacred sites including purported unmarked graveyards, says a Department of Justice memo. Attorney General Sean Fraser made no mention of it when he introduced Bill C-9 An Act To Amend The Criminal Code last September 19: “Why isn’t Indian Residential School denialism proposed in this bill?”

Is that so?:

The Tk’emlups te Secwepemc First Nation of Kamloops, B.C. yesterday confirmed it has not attempted to exhume the purported graves of 215 children at the site of an Indian Residential School despite receiving $12.1 million in federal funding for field work. The admission comes ahead of the scheduled release of Access To Information documents regarding the First Nation’s requests for funding for “exhumation of remains.”

**

Millions in federal funding intended to recover the remains of children at a former Indian Residential School in Kamloops,vwere instead allocated for consultants, publicists, and other administrative costs, according to newly revealed documents.

Blacklock's Reporter says the Department of Crown-Indigenous Relations attempted to withhold these financial records under the Access to Information Act.

The Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation received $12.1 million after announcing in 2021 that 215 unmarked graves had been discovered at the Kamloops Residential School.

That number was later revised to 200 “potential burials.” However, no human remains have been recovered to date, despite internal memos noting “requests from families to return bodies.”

Originally granted nearly $8 million for fieldwork, record searches, and site security, funding increased by more than $4 million, described as “robust and comprehensive” in council meeting minutes.

Expenses included $405,000 for administrative costs, $37,500 for marketing, and $100,000 to hire two trauma counselors for six months.

Another $532,000 was spent on security, while funds were also allocated to publicists, architects, and engineers for projects such as a Healing Centre, a museum, and a culturally supportive nursing home for indigenous elders.

The Department of Crown-Indigenous Relations pressed the First Nation for details on archaeological and forensic progress but noted the complexity of such work.

“We are not seeking to intervene in this matter but are trying to understand the approach,” wrote acting director Mandy McCarthy, who inquired about exhumation and DNA testing protocols.

Despite these questions, details about the spending remain censored, and records reveal little evidence of direct fieldwork to locate graves.

No wonder they want to shut people up.

Robed friends in high places:

The CBC is entitled to conceal internal details of corporate spending under the Access To Information Act, says a federal judge. The ruling came on a legal challenge by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation to find how much the CBC spent on advertising while executives pled financial hardship: ‘Disclosure could result in political interference and pressure to modify its spending.’