Howard M. Friedman (LexBlog Canada)

In Matsuri Foundation of Canada v. British Columbia (Assessor of Area #01 – Capital), (BC Sup. Ct., February 2, 2024), the Supreme Court of the Canadian province of British Columbia upheld the denial of a property tax exemption sought by the Matsuri Foundation of Canada.  The court summarized its decision as follows: Matsuri sought, and...

 In Canada, the Archdiocese of Montreal has filed suit in a Quebec trial court seeking an exemption from amendments to the province’s Act Respecting End-of-Life Care which require all palliative care homes to provide “medical aid in dying.” The Archdiocese operates a 12-bed palliative care home in Montreal. The full text of the complaint in Les...

In Vabuolas v. British Columbia (Information and Privacy Commissioner), (BC Sup. Ct., Jan. 8, 2024), the British Columbia Supreme Court upheld an order issued by the B.C. Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner over the objections raised by two elders of the Jehovah’s Witness congregations. Petitioners claimed that the Order violated their rights under Canada’s...

In Canada, suit was filed last week in a Quebec trial court by the Christian organization Harvest Ministries International challenging the province’s cancellation of the organization’s contract reserving the Quebec City Convention Centre for its Faith, Fire and Freedom Rally.  According to the Motion to Institute Proceedings (full text) in Harvest Ministries International v. Proulx, (Quebec...

Ottawa City News reports on the sentencing by a Saskatchewan trial court of the leader of a now defunct political party for violation of Canada’s hate speech law: The former leader of the Canadian Nationalist Party was handed a one-year sentence Thursday on a hate speech charge after he called for the genocide of Jewish people...

On Aug. 2, Statistics Canada released Police-reported crime statistics in Canada, 2021. One section (Text Box 5) focuses on hate crimes and says in part: The number of police-reported hate crimes in Canada increased by 27% in 2021, rising from 2,646 incidents to 3,360…. From 2020 to 2021, increases were noted in the number of police-reported...

On Aug. 2, Statistics Canada released Police-reported crime statistics in Canada, 2021. One section (Text Box 5) focuses on hate crimes and says in part: The number of police-reported hate crimes in Canada increased by 27% in 2021, rising from 2,646 incidents to 3,360…. From 2020 to 2021, increases were noted in the number of police-reported...

Pope Francis yesterday in his first public event on his trip to Canada addressed representatives of Canada’s Indigenous Peoples to apologize for the policies of cultural destruction and forced assimilation which led to abusive residential schools operated by the Church. In his address (full text), the Pope said in part: It is necessary to remember...

In Fung Loy Kok Institute of Taoism v. Municipal Property Assessment Corporation, (ON Super. Ct., Jan. 6, 2022), an Ontario (Canada) appellate court held that a Taoist organization was not entitled to a municipal property tax exemption for its satellite sites at which Tai Chi classes are held. The court concluded that these sites are not “places...

In Right to Life Association of Toronto v. Canada , (Fed.Ct., Oct. 22, 2021), Canada’s Federal Court in a 63-pagae opinion upheld a requirement in the 2018 Canada Summer Jobs program that required organizations applying for funding to attest that they respected individual human rights, Charter rights and reproductive rights. A right-to-life organization and individuals associated with it...

In Gateway Bible Baptist Church v. Province of Manitoba, (MBQB, Oct. 21, 2021), a Manitoba (Canada) trial court, in a 156-page opinion, upheld against constitutional challenges the public health restrictions imposed by the province on gatherings at places of worship and at private homes.  Plaintiffs were several churches and individuals. The court concluded that while...

In Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church of Canada St. Mary Cathedral v. Aga, (Sup Ct Canada, May 21, 2021), the Supreme Court of Canada refused to invalidate an Archbishop’s expulsion of five church members. The expelled members had been critical of the Archbishop’s refusal to accept a recommendation of a committee investigating a movement which some saw...

In Hak v. Attorney General of Quebec, (Que. Super. Ct., April 20, 2021), a Quebec (Canada) Superior Court judge in a 240-page opinion upheld, with two important exceptions, Bill 21 which prohibits a lengthy list of public officials, law enforcement and judicial officials as well as teachers from wearing religious symbols in the exercise of...

In Canada, in Smith v. British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal, (BC Sup. Ct., Feb. 26, 2021), a British Columbia trial court upheld the dismissal by the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal of a religious discrimination complaint filed by a member of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. The province’s driver’s license authority had refused to issue petitioner...

Yesterday Canada’s House of Commons passed a non-binding resolution (full text) declaring that China’s actions against its Uighur and other Turkic Muslim minorities– including detention camps and measures intended to prevent births constitute genocide. The Global News reports: The Conservative motion passed overwhelmingly in the House of Commons with 266 votes to zero. The Liberal...

 In a Joint Statement (full text) issued on Wednesday, the Foreign Ministers of Canada and the Netherlands said that their governments plan to intervene in the genocide case that has been brought against Myanmar at the International Court of Justice. In the case, Gambia claims that Myanmar has taken and condoned actions against Rohingya Muslims...

In Government of Saskatchewan v. Good Spirit School Division No. 204, (SK Ct. App., March 25, 2020), the Saskatchewan (Canada) Court of Appeal in a 133-page opinion, upheld the province’s funding for non-Catholic students enrolled in a government-funded Catholic school. Global News reports on the decision.

In Canada, in Servatius v. Board of Education School District No. 70, (BC Sup. Ct., Jan. 8, 2020), a British Columbia trial court judge rejected claims of infringement of religious freedom asserted by the mother of two school children. The court summarized the dispute: As part of an effort to acquaint students with Indigenous culture and to...

In Church of Atheism of Central Canada v. Minister of National Revenue, (Canada Fed. Ct. App., Nov. 29, 2019), Canada’s Federal Court of Appeal held that the Church of Atheism of Central Canada is not entitled to registration as a charity under Canada’s Income Tax Act. Because the Act does not define “charitable activities”, we must...

CTV News and Nanaimo News reported yesterday on the opening of a trial in Nanaimo, British Columbia in a suit against a school district because of a classroom demonstration of a Nuu-chah-nulth smudging ceremony. Plaintiff, the mother of a child in the elementary school classroom where the demonstration was carried out in 2015, says that the...

In Truchon v. Procureur General du Canada, (Quebec Superior Ct., Sept. 11, 2019) [opinion in French], a Quebec trial court judge held that portions of the Canadian and of Quebec’s assisted suicide laws are unconstitutional because they are too restrictive. As summarized by Canadian Press: Justice Christine Baudouin found in favour of two Quebecers struck by...

In Aryeh-Bain v. Canada (Attorney General), (Canada Fed. Ct., July 23, 2019), a judge of Canada’s Federal Court ordered Canada’s Chief Electoral Officer to reconsider his decision that refused to reschedule the October 21 Canadian federal election that conflicts with the Jewish holiday of Shemini Atzeret.  According to the court: If the election is held on Shemini...

A lawsuit was filed last week in federal court in Canada seeking to move the upcoming federal election from Oct. 21 to Oct. 28.  According to Vos Iz Neias: Shemini Atzeret comes out this year on Election Day, Oct. 21, which would prevent observant Jews from casting their ballots. Of the four advance polling days,...

In Regina v. Oler, (B.C. Sup. Ct., May 17, 2019), a British Columbia trial court found Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) Bishop James Oler guilty under Canadian Criminal Code §273.3(1)(b) of removing his 15-year old daughter from Canada for purposes of sexual exploitation. As summarized by the court: The Crown alleges that upon...

In Christian Medical and Dental Society of Canada v. College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, (Ont. Ct. App., May 15, 2019), the Ontario Court of Appeal rejected a constitutional challenge to two policies of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario.  At issue is the requirement that physicians who object to providing any...

In Canada, the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal last week held that a Christian activist violated the province’s Human Rights Code when he circulated a pamphlet attacking a candidate for the province’s Legislative Assembly because of her transgender status.  In Oger v. Whatcott, (BCHRT, March 27, 2019), the Tribunal held that William Whatcott’s conduct amounted...

In Canada in a class action lawsuit against two Jehovah’s Witness entities, a Quebec Superior Court has approved the certification of a class consisting of current or former Jehovah’s Witnesses who allege they were sexually assaulted as minors in Quebec by either an elder of the religious group or a fellow member. As reported by CTV...