Sacred Spaces, Safe Places Act, 2025
- Sponsor
- John Fraser
Bill overview
Bill 16, “Sacred Spaces, Safe Places Act, 2025”, is an Ontario bill from session 44-1. It was introduced by John Fraser (Liberal, Ottawa South).
Its latest recorded status is “In committee”.
This overview is written automatically from the registry and vote records on this page and updates when they sync. It describes the bill's path, not its merits.
SUMMARY FROM THE OFFICIAL REGISTRY
What you need to know
The Bill enacts the Sacred Spaces, Safe Places Act, 2025 . Section 1 provides that the purpose of the Act is to protect access to religious institutions. Section 2 defines a religious institution as being a building or structure, or part of a building or structure, that is primarily used for religious worship, including a church, mosque, synagogue or temple, or a cemetery. Section 3 prohibits certain activities in an access zone for a religious institution, which include advising a person to refrain from accessing the institution, persistently requesting that a person refrain from accessing the institution or certain actions for the purpose of dissuading a person from accessing the institution. Section 4 establishes access zones for religious institutions and provides for the extent of the zones. Sections 5 to 9 provide for enforcement. Section 5 provides for offences, while section 6 provides that a person may not be convicted of an offence for contravening a prohibition in an access zone unless the person knew or, at any time before the contravention, was given notice of, the location of the relevant access zone. Section 7 provides for a right to damages for losses resulting from contraventions. Section 8 gives the Superior Court of Justice the power to grant an injunction, on an application by a person, to restrain a person from contravening a prohibition under section 3. Section 9 provides for powers of arrest without a warrant.
Vote roll
No division has been recorded for this bill yet.