Conservative Members of Parliament from Windsor to London spoke to a crowd of about 200 people at the Ciociaro Club on Tuesday night.
Front and centre of the discussion was the Liberal government’s Bill C-9, the Combatting Hate Act.
Bill C-9 would create new Criminal Code offences for intimidation and obstruction around places such as religious institutions, cultural spaces, seniors’ homes, and cemeteries.
The bill also introduces a stand-alone hate-crime offence and penalties for displaying certain hate or terrorist symbols with the intent to promote hatred.
Andrew Lawton, the MP for Elgin-St. Thomas-London South and a member of the Justice Committee, argues Bill C-9 threatens freedom of expression and religious liberty.
He says removing the Criminal Code’s "good faith" religious exemption could leave traditional religious teachings vulnerable to being criminalized.
Windsor is one of several stops on his national town-hall tour, which he says is aimed at urging residents to contact senators and push for changes to the bill.
He said the legislation blurs the line between hate speech and free expression.
"The biggest thing with Bill C-9 is that no community will be protected from hate by legislation that really infringes on their fundamental rights," Lawton said.
"This is a bill that, in its current form, removes long-standing protections that people of faith have enjoyed."
Existing laws already provide legal protections for those facing hate, Lawton said, but require stronger enforcement.
"My caution to any community would be if existing laws are not being enforced, new laws are not going to solve that underlying problem," he said.
MPs Kathy Borrelli (Windsor-Tecumseh-Lakeshore), Harb Gill (Windsor-West), Chris Lewis (Essex), and Dave Epp (Chatham-Kent-Leamington) also addressed the audience on Tuesday night.
Borrelli said she’s hearing growing concerns from people of faith who worry Bill C-9 could limit both religious teachings and freedom of speech.
"That is their number one concern, but, they do realize that their speech is being curtailed with this bill as well, and that's their secondary concern as well, freedom of speech," she said.
"Once you start removing certain freedoms, how many more removals are going to come?"
A coalition that included civil liberties, community and labour groups called on the Liberal government to withdraw its hate crime bill late last year.
Civil liberties groups warned then that its definitions are too broad and could unintentionally criminalize peaceful protest or restrict freedom of expression.
Bill C-9 passed third reading in the House of Commons last week and now moves to the Senate, where it must be studied before becoming law and could still be amended.
-With files from CTV Windsor's Robert Lothian and CTV News