By Gary Randall
May 24, 2016
Note from Pastor Kevin Lea: The Canadians have dumped their conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper for Justin Trudeau, whose beliefs and agenda are contrary to God’s word (on this and many other issues). The result will be judgment for Canada and for those who follow her lead, just like it was for Judah in the days of Jeremiah
Shall I not punish them for these things?’ says the Lord. ‘Shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?’ “An astonishing and horrible thing Has been committed in the land: The prophets prophesy falsely, And the priests rule by their own power; And My people love to have it so. But what will you do in the end? Jer 5:29-31 NKJV
Canada’s ruling political party has introduced a bill that would ban anti-transgender speech, including both gender identity and gender expression, with up to 2 years in prison for violators.
The bill is an incremental extension of their existing “Hate Speech” laws.
How they got to this point should be as alarming as the new expanded “hate speech” law itself.
And yes, far left progressives in the US are communicating with far Left progressives in Canada.
The bill seeks to amend the Canadian Criminal Code expanding it to include any public speech or communication that “promotes hatred” on the basis of “gender identity” or “gender expression.”
And the bill has teeth. Up to 2 years in prison if you say something that can be considered “hate speech.” Who decides what is and is not “hate speech?”
As in the US, the federal government judicial system will ultimately decide who will be charged. And as in the US, homosexual activist groups are “consulting” the government. And the government, following the recent Canadian election, is now led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau—a far Left progressive.
Trudeau announced the bill in a speech on May 17, which happened to be “International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia” saying, “There remains much to be done.”
He said, “We have taken too many important steps toward recognizing and protecting the legal rights for the LGBTQ2 community,” announcing, “To do its part, the Government of Canada will introduce legislation that will help ensure transgender and other gender-diverse people can live according to their gender identity…”
Terrific. What about those who happen to hold biblical views on human sexuality and gender? Views that are fundamental deeply held core religious beliefs, and are different from government-approved beliefs. Are they protected from the fury of the “LGBTQ2 ” community who determines for the government that a pastor’s sermon based on verses from, say, Romans chapter 1, is hate speech, not religious beliefs? Up to 2 years in prison if it offends the “community.”
The progression of our neighbors to get to this point is important and revealing. Canada has been walking this “progressive path” for some time—redefining marriage, affirming homosexual behavior—much like their cousins south of the border in the US—us.
However, on March 29, Canada announced it was shutting down its Religious Freedom Office. Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion confirmed that the office was, in fact, being closed, then explained, “Our government shares the same conviction as the previous government [which was a more conservative government] but it assesses the consequences of its chosen method of promoting this conviction differently.” Same thing in a different way. Right? Not exactly.
He continued–“I am referring to freedom of religion or belief, which we will defend tooth and nail, but not through the office that the Harper government specifically set up for that purpose.”
So how will the Canadian government defend religious freedom “tooth and nail?” Mr. Dion says, “We believe that human rights are better defended when they are considered, universal, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated, as set out in the Vienna Declaration.” So Canada will now defend (tooth and nail) Canadian’s religious freedom through the world court of global opinion.
Biblical Christians and conservatives in Canada are, as you can imagine, very concerned. And they should be. It’s concerning that a pastor or biblical believer can now face 2 years in prison for holding and expressing biblical views on human sexuality. Christian leaders and conservative leaders are committed to
To read this article in its entirety, go to: http://blog.faithandfreedom.us/2016/05/canada-anti-transgender-speech-2-years.html#.V0TirjUrLIV