OTTAWA — A Liberal cabinet minister pushed back on Tuesday against accusations that removing a provision that shields individuals from a hate speech conviction should they express a statement based on a religious belief amounts to an attack on religious freedom.

Marc Miller, the newly minted minister responsible for Canadian Heritage and Official Languages said as a person of Christian faith with “very, very deep beliefs,” he does not believe a religious text should be used, “to escape from committing a hate crime,” or make a claim that hate was being promoted “in the name of a religious text.”

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Miller, a Montreal MP who was promoted this week to cabinet by Prime Minister Mark Carney, has served as chair of the parliamentary justice committee.

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