Religious bubble zone law threatens fundamental freedoms -- B.C. Humanist Association
Sid Shniad
B.C. Humanist Association March 11, 2026
Religious bubble zone law threatens fundamental freedoms
A new bill introduced by the Government of British Columbia threatens the rights of protesters and religious dissidents, according to the BC Humanist Association (BCHA). The group is calling for the bill to be withdrawn.
Bill 13 - Safe Access to Places of Public Worship Act would create 'bubble zones' around places of worship, ostensibly to protect access to faith services. It mirrors legislation in place for schools and abortion clinics.
"Over the past few years, churches, gurdwaras, synagogues and temples have increasingly been sites of secular political meetings," explained Ian Bushfield, Executive Director of the BCHA. "Some of those events have attracted significant controversy both from their congregations and the broader public. This bill criminalizes any protest near these sites under the guise of protecting religious freedom."
The bill would prohibit anyone from impeding access, disrupting activities, engaging in "interference" or intimidating or attempting to intimidate others within the bubble zone. The BCHA is particularly concerned by the broad definition of "interference," which includes any speech or action that might deter a person from entering the building.
"interference" means advising or persuading, or attempting to advise or persuade, by any means, including, without limitation, graphic, verbal or written means, a person to refrain from participating in an activity at a place of public worship
In other words, any protest outside a place of worship would be illegal, regardless of the actual activity taking place in the facility. This would include those who have recently protested:
- Indian Government events at a gurdwara,
- Israeli realtors talking about investment opportunities in the occupied West Bank at a synagogue or
- MAGA concerts at various churches.
The only activities exempted from the bill are those authorized by the owner of the facility or that relate to labour action.
Similar legislation being fast-tracked through the House of Commons would make it a criminal offence to intimidate or obstruct access to places of worship or similar facility used by an identifiable group. However, the BC Government bill would only apply to places of worship that receive a statutory property tax exemption.
Those are largely designated by various laws and BC Assessment's Places of Public Worship Policy. Simply put, a building must be owned by a religious organization and used primarily for "public worship."
"We've long been critical of the blanket exemption for places of worship from property taxes," added Bushfield. "These laws privilege established and larger religious groups, and are based on a flawed presumption that belief in god is a public benefit."
The BCHA has previously called on the government to scrap the automatic tax exemption and allow municipalities to determine the community benefit of granting such exemptions.
Owners would be required to post signage designating the access zone, which extends 20m beyond the property line, often including the sidewalk across the street.
A typical cross section for higher-zoned streets, industrial, arterial and bus routes in Vancouver is 20m wide. (Source)
The bill also allows the government broad leeway to rewrite the law through regulations, for example by:
- Adding additional classes of property under the definition of "place of public worship"
- Creating designated policing units for enforcing access zones
- Adding or removing any class of activities that might be exempt from the offence
- Defining what access zone signs must include and how they should be posted
- Changing the size and scope of access zones generally or for specific places of worship
It also allows regulations to discriminate based on the place of worship, activities that constitute an offence or who might be subject to it:
A regulation under this section may provide differently for different places of public worship or activities or classes of places of public worship, activities or persons.
Anyone violating an access zone could face a fine of up to $2,000, 6 months jail time or both under the Offence Act's general penalty. The government "or any other person" can also apply for an court injunction to prevent a person from any protests in an access zone.
Finally, the bill is set to expire four years after it comes into force.
"Fundamentally, this bill is a mistaken effort to protect people's ability to practice their religion," concludes Bushfield. "It empowers religious institutions to literally call the cops on their critics. It completely ignores people's constitutional rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, association and belief. If you can't criticize religious authorities, you don't have freedom of religion."
The BCHA is urging British Columbians to ask their MLA to oppose the bill.