Justice Minister Sean Fraser is refusing to close the door on negotiations with the Conservatives on changes to the government’s anti-hate bill but acknowledges he’ll eventually move ahead with the legislation if no agreement can be reached.

At justice committee on Monday, the Liberals proposed changes to a contentious amendment to Bill C-9 that removes the religious beliefs exemption for the crime of inciting hate.

The Liberals said it clarified that Parliament wasn’t intending to criminalize religious speech but the Conservatives argued that it didn’t offer any substantive changes to address real concerns from faith communities.

Speaking to reporters before Tuesday’s cabinet meeting, Fraser said he’s still hopeful the Conservatives can be brought on board and urged members of the committee to find a compromise.

“Yesterday’s committee was a disappointment seeing that we didn’t make the progress I was hoping for, but I don’t think the door is closed,” he said in response to a question from iPolitics.

“It seems that there is a conversation playing out as between committee members and if I can leave a message to members of the justice committee of all parties, by the way, work together to find a path forward.”

A contentious amendment

Bill C-9 creates new penalties to criminalize efforts to harass or obstruct access to places of worship. It comes directly from a campaign promise from the Liberals in the run-up to last year’s election, largely in response to concerns about anti-Israel protesters behaving aggressively towards Jewish residents and making chants glorifying violence against Jews.

Last month, several Jewish groups made a joint call to urge parliamentarians to quickly pass the bill, as well as create a new offence for the wilful promotion of terrorism.

The Liberals need the support of either the Bloc or Conservatives to push through legislation at committee.

The Bloc has offered to help pass the bill if the Liberals supported their exemption amendment.

While the government has signalled its support for the change, Fraser has continued to seek out a compromise that would win the backing of the Conservatives, who have charged that it risks criminalizing religious speech.

The Liberals have countered the exemption has never been successfully used as a defence and religious speech is protected under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Fraser said on Tuesday that he hoped to find an agreement with the Tories but wouldn’t wait forever.

“At a certain point in time, of course, we will move forward if we have enough support,” he said.

“But on something as important as hate crimes and something as important to people as their religious freedoms, we want to make every effort to demonstrate that we are listening to everyone and working with people from different perspectives from different parties. If we can come together, that would be the perfect outcome, but we won’t let perfection be the enemy of progress for much longer.”

Conservatives question reasoning behind amendment

The amendment proposed by the Liberals on Monday aimed to clarify that the legislation doesn’t apply to “worship, sermons, prayer, religious education, peaceful debate, or even the good faith of reading and discussion of religious texts,” according to Liberal MP Patricia Lattanzio.

It states nothing in the bill should be construed as criminalizing someone for making a statement on a matter of public interest if it’s “not willfully promoting hatred against an identifiable group” or promoting anti-semitism by condoning, denying or downplaying the Holocaust.

Lattanzio said the amendment was a direct response to conversations with faith communities who were concerned that removing the exemption meant “ordinary religious expression was now at risk.”

“Ultimately, this bill is about protecting Canadians, including people of faith, from hate and intimidation,” she said.

“The clarifying language we are introducing this morning introduce ensures that Parliament’s intent is clear, both in the text of the law and on the parliamentary record.”

But Conservative MP Andrew Lawton questioned why the amendment was necessary if by Lattanzio’s own admission it was only maintaining the “status quo.”

He said he appreciated that the Liberals are talking to faith communities about concerns over criminalizing religious speech but these latest changes only claim that “none of this was at issue in the first place.”

“So, for people that were raising concerns that Bill C-9 was eroding long standing protections in criminal law, the government’s own admission right now about this amendment is that nothing is changing. They’re trying to pacify concerns without actually strengthening these protections in law,” he said.

Lawton moved a subamendment that states the threshold for willfully promoting hate wouldn’t be triggered if “you are expressing a matter in the public interest, including an educational, religious, political or scientific statement.”

He said it would eliminate the government’s “circular and confusing language.”

Lawton added that he was told by faith communities that the government signalled to them it was preparing an amendment to respond to their concerns about the problems created by removing the religious defence exemption.

No vote was held on the amendment after the Conservatives proposed further changes. It’s expected it will be addressed when the committee meets again on Wednesday.