Bill C-255: Protecting Places of Worship

November 6, 2025

Kelly Block, Conservative Member of Parliament for Carlton Trail-Eagle Creek, introduced Private Members’ Bill C-255 to increase the penalties for criminals convicted of mischief directed at places of worship.

There has been an increase of hate-motivated mischief incidents related to property used by identifiable groups in Canada over the past ten years. Statistics Canada data shows there were 66 incidents in 2015 rising to 277 incidents in 2024. This is an astonishing increase of over 300%.

Bill C-255 seeks to amend the Criminal Code of Canada to include compensation to the victim as a punishment for someone convicted of mischief directed at a place of worship.

The Bill also broadens the scope of mischief directed at places of worship to include any mischief committed, not just hate-motivated mischief as is currently the case.

“The cost of vandalism to a place of worship is borne by the victim of the crime but Bill C-255 will shift this burden to the criminal,” said Block. “This Bill will make compensation to the victim part of every sentence for those convicted of mischief directed at places of worship.”

While setting a nominal minimum of $1,000, Bill C-255 maintains the ability of judges to decide what is a reasonable and just amount of compensation.

The Criminal Code already gives judges the discretion to impose restitution orders as a part of a sentence, however, this new legislation will make compensation part of every sentence.

Furthermore, while some of the punishments proposed in this Bill are novel, there are strong similarities to the measures addressing vandalism of war memorials already in the Criminal Code.

“Mischief directed at places of worship is more than just vandalism,” Block concluded. “Whether or not it is committed with the intent to intimidate, worshippers are left with a lingering fear of vulnerability. Victims of this crime should not have the added burden of having to pay for the damages.”