e-382 (Blasphemous libel)

Petition to the Government of Canada

• It has been eight decades since the last conviction under Section 296, and thirty-five years since the last charge of blasphemous libel was laid;
• Blasphemous libel serves no purpose in Canadian law or modern-day society, and would likely be found to contravene section 2 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which protects freedom of expression;
• In Canada and elsewhere, blasphemy laws have been abused to suppress minorities and stifle inconvenient speech;
• Authoritarian states point to Canada’s blasphemous libel law to defend their own laws criminalizing blasphemy;
• Repealing Canada’s blasphemy law would demonstrate, at home and abroad, Canada’s commitment to the value of free speech for all; and
• Freedom of expression is the foundational human right in our society. Many others, including freedom of assembly and freedom of conscience, are derived from freedom of expression.