Free Republic

The minority Liberal government has struck a deal with Bloc Québécois to “eliminate long-standing Criminal Code safeguards for freedom of expression and religious freedom in exchange for the Bloc supporting Bill C-9,” according to the National Post. Currently, the law exempts hateful or antisemitic speech if it based in good faith on the interpretation of a religious text, but that immunity is set to be removed. Additionally, the Liberals are expected to back off plans to eliminate the need for a provincial attorney general’s sign-off to pursue a hate-propaganda prosecution. The removal of the religious exception clause is being driven...

Pro-life campaigners and advocates for religious freedom in Ireland have expressed dismay following the news that the Irish Government intends to introduce fines and prison sentences for people who pray, hold signs, or try to persuade women not to have abortions while they are within the vicinity of an abortion facility. The proposed legislation would mean that individuals would not be allowed to express pro-life views within 100m of abortion facilities while also prohibiting silent prayer, the holding of placards, and any peaceful offers of alternatives to abortion. Pro-life activists have reacted by highlighting that there is no evidence that...

It may be one thing for freedom of expression to be an object of controversy in Canada -- which is, after all, a somewhat tenuous experiment in democracy and federalism, one whose final shape and outcome may yet remain to be determined -- but it is quite another to see it tormented in Great Britain, the historical anchor of most of the liberties we take for granted. When Britain injures what the rest of regard as British principles, it is a source of particular sorrow. On May 10, a teenager protesting peaceably outside the London headquarters of the Church of...