Sabbath Observance and Employment Accommodations

• Author: M.H. Ogilvie
• Pages: 387-398

C

h

ap

t

er

Thirteen

Sabbath

Observance

and

Employment

Accommodations

A.

INTRODUCTION

Historically,

the

most significant religious

issue

in the

workplace

in

Canada,

if

measured

by the

volume

of

reported cases,

has

been that

of

Sunday

observance; that

is, of

ensuring

by law

that Sunday

is

maintained

as a day of

rest,

free

from

work

or

other distractions,

so

that Christian

observances

of

that

day may

proceed.

Recently,

however, with

the rise of

religious pluralism

in

Canada, other religious groups, both Christian

and

non-Christian, have looked

to the law to

protect

not

only

the

observance

of

their respective holy days

but

also

to

ensure other workplace accom-

modations required

for the

practice

of

their

beliefs.

This chapter will con-

sider these issues.

Sunday

observance legislation

in

Canada

has

been considered

by the

courts

primarily

in the

contexts

of

constitutional

law1

and

criminal

law.2

Such

legislation

has

been held

to

fall

within

the

federal

power over crim-

inal

law

pursuant

to

section

91(27)

of the

Constitution

Act,

1867?

but

provincial legislation regulating Sunday activities, whether work

or

play,

has

been sustained

by the

courts

by

virtue

of the

opting

out

provisions

of

1 See the

fuller

discussion, above chapter

4,

section D(2).

2 See the

fuller

discussion, above chapter

5,

section

B.

3

R.S.C.

1985, App.

II, No. 5.

387