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Success! Canada passes bill to repeal its blasphemy law
https://humanism.org.uk/2018/12/13/success-canada-passes-bill-to-repeal-its-blasphemy-law/Humanists UK has welcomed the passage of a new bill which is set to repeal Canada’s 19th century blasphemy laws.
The bill now awaits royal assent, the final (formal) legislative step. Humanists UK, which campaigns against blasphemy laws around the world as part of the End Blasphemy Laws coalition, has welcomed the news, and urged other countries who retain their blasphemy laws, such as Scotland and Northern Ireland, to do the same.
‘Blasphemous libel’ was outlawed in Section 296 of the Canadian Criminal Code and is punishable by a person term of up to two years.
Although the last conviction for blasphemy in Canada was in 1927, the law has been used to bring many private prosecution cases which have sought to silence free expression, including in 1979 to bring a prosecution against Monty Python’s The Life of Brian. Such laws are also frequently used by other countries, such as Saudi Arabia, to justify the presence of their own actively used laws.
The bill now awaits royal assent, the final (formal) legislative step. Humanists UK, which campaigns against blasphemy laws around the world as part of the End Blasphemy Laws coalition, has welcomed the news, and urged other countries who retain their blasphemy laws, such as Scotland and Northern Ireland, to do the same.
‘Blasphemous libel’ was outlawed in Section 296 of the Canadian Criminal Code and is punishable by a person term of up to two years.
Although the last conviction for blasphemy in Canada was in 1927, the law has been used to bring many private prosecution cases which have sought to silence free expression, including in 1979 to bring a prosecution against Monty Python’s The Life of Brian. Such laws are also frequently used by other countries, such as Saudi Arabia, to justify the presence of their own actively used laws.