Showing posts with label Canada. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Canada. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 07, 2024

Montreal Archdiocese Sues for Exemption from End-of-Life Care Requirements

 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 Oeuvres de Charite de L'Archeveque Catholique Romain de Montreal v. Procureur General du Quebec, (Couer Superieure, filed Feb. 2, 2024) is available only in French. An English Language Press Release from the Archdiocese describes the lawsuit in part::

To our profound dismay, the amendment to the Act respecting end-of-life care and other legislative provisions, SQ 2023, c. 15 (the new Act), effective since December 7, 2023, has regretfully prohibited palliative care homes from excluding "medical aid in dying" from their services.  

A consequence of this new law is that actions we find morally unacceptable may now occur on our property.....  

In essence, the Appeal is simply seeking permission for palliative care homes, similar to health professionals, to "refuse to administer medical aid in dying based on their personal convictions and [to] refuse to participate in its administration for the same reason."  

We strongly believe that by mandating all palliative care homes to provide "medical aid in dying" without considering their mission, values, and the support of their community, the new law significantly undermines the exercise of the right to freedom of religion and conscience, as well as the right to the peaceful enjoyment and free disposal of one's property, guaranteed by the Canadian Charter and the Quebec Charter.   

Palliative care homes, given that they operate as community organizations and not public institutions, should retain the ability to define their own mission and the services they are willing to offer, as was the practice until recently....

Canadian Press reports on the lawsuit.

Thursday, January 11, 2024

British Columbia Court Says Jehovah's Witness Elders Must Submit Confidential Documents to Privacy Commissioner

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 Charter of Rights and Freedoms. As the court explained:

Two former members of the Jehovah's Witnesses each sought disclosure from their former congregations of all records that include their personal information. The elders of the congregations refused, arguing that disclosure of confidential religious notes would be contrary to their religious beliefs....

[Under B.C. Personal Information Protection Act] Where an individual has made an access request to an organization for a copy of personal information about the individual held by the organization, and the individual is dissatisfied with the organization’s response to the access request, they may ask the Commissioner to conduct a review. This is what happened in this case....

Of particular concern to the petitioners is that the groups of elders who meet to determine membership must be able to discuss matters in confidence and without fear of having their confidential discussions disclosed. The petitioners are concerned that if the elders’ confidential communications are disclosed, they may be further disseminated for the purposes of mocking either the petitioners or elders, causing unnecessary embarrassment....

I am not satisfied that disclosure of the Disputed Records by the congregational elders to the Commissioner for review for the purpose of determining whether disclosure to the Applicants will be required would preclude the elders from continuing to follow their religious practices when weighing the rights of individuals to control over their personal information on the one hand and the religious freedom of the elders on the other. The Production Order represents a balancing of the competing interests, and I conclude that the infringement on the congregational elders’ religious freedoms that results from the Production Order is proportionate....

I conclude that while ss. 23(1)(a) and 38(1)(b) of PIPA infringe the petitioners’ rights under s. 2(a) of the Charter, those rights are limited in a manner that is reasonably justified in a free and democratic society.

CBC News reports on the decision.

Friday, October 20, 2023

Canadian Court Says Oath to Monarchy Does Not Infringe Sikh Lawyer's Rights

In Wirring v. Law Society of Alberta, (AB KB, Oct. 16, 2023), the Court of King's Bench of the Canadian province of Alberta (sitting as a trial court) rejected a challenge to the oath of allegiance to the British monarch that law school graduates are required to take in order to be admitted to the Law Society and practice law in Alberta. According to the court:

Mr. Wirring is an amritdhari Sikh. He has pledged an absolute oath of allegiance to Akal Purakh, the divine being in the Sikh tradition. Mr. Wirring asserts that the oath of allegiance to the Queen is incompatible with the oath he has sworn to Akal Purakh.

The court held, however, that the oath requirement did not infringe plaintiff's freedom of religion, or his equality rights, that are protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The court said in part:

[117]  ... [T]he Oath of Allegiance ... should be interpreted ... not as an oath to the Queen as a person, but as a symbolic oath to our constitutional democracy by those seeking to be barristers and solicitors....

[165]      I ... accept Mr. Wirring’s own words that he can only see the Oath of Allegiance as an oath to the Queen. However, and importantly, I do not find that portion of his evidence to be part of his sincerely held religious belief. The conclusion that the Oath of Allegiance is an oath to the Queen is Mr. Wirring’s own legal interpretation....

[166]      ... [T]he interpretation of the Oath of Allegiance is an objective exercise performed by the Court....

[172]      Because I have found the Oath of Allegiance to be symbolic, Mr. Wirring is not required under the LPA to pledge allegiance to a spiritual or secular entity other than Akal Purakh. Therefore, there is no objective interference with Mr. Wirring’s freedom of religion by the state.

[173]      ... [I]t is Mr. Wirring’s misunderstanding of the Oath of Allegiance’s meaning, and not the requirement to take the Oath of Allegiance, which is preventing him from admission to the legal profession in Alberta.

YesPunjab reports on the decision.

Wednesday, February 15, 2023

Canadian Church Not in Contempt for Violating Covid Restrictions

In New Brunswick v. His Tabernacle Family Church Inc., (KB NB, Feb. 3, 2023), a trial court in the Canadian province of New Brunswick refused to hold a church in contempt for a violation of Covid restrictions because it was not unequivocally clear that the church knew it was in violation of a previous consent decree.  The church, after signing a consent decree, moved its services to a commercial tent in order to avoid restrictions on gatherings in "public indoor spaces." Initially the sides of the tent were raised, but as weather became colder, the church lowered the sides.  The Province contended that once the sidewalls of the tent were down, the tent became an enclosed space. The court said in part:

The Applicant was aware that initially the Respondents were using the commercial tent with the side walls up. My understanding of the Applicant's position is that such activity would not be in violation of the Mandatory Order as it relates to "public indoor spaces." However, once all four side walls of the tent were down, the Applicant was of the view that the Mandatory Order had been breached. At a minimum, it was incumbent on the Applicant to advise the Respondents at what point they would be in breach of the Mandatory Order.... [T]here is a point at which the use of the commercial tent becomes an "enclosed space". However, as I write this decision, it is unclear to me when that occurs and counsel for the Applicant were unable to provide a clear answer to the question.... [T]he court struggles to understand how the Respondents were to know....

Fox News reports on the decision.

Sunday, December 18, 2022

British Columbia's COVID Restrictions on Worship Services Upheld

In Beaudoin v. Attorney General of British Columbia, (BC Ct. App., Dec. 16, 2022), the highest court in the Canadian province of British Columbia upheld 2020 and 2021 COVID orders of BC's Provincial Health Officer that prohibited in-person worship services.  The court concluded that the Gathering and Events Order did not violate §15 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms that protects the equality rights of the churches that were plaintiffs in the suit, saying in part:

[T]he G&E orders did not create any distinction based on the religious or non-religious nature of the setting in question. Any distinction between settings permitted to remain open and those required to close was based on epidemiological data and the PHO’s assessment—supported by provincial, national and international data and experience—that the level of risk of viral transmission was unacceptably high in certain types of settings or gatherings involving certain types of activities. The risks associated with retail and other permitted activities—typically involving more transient contact between individuals of a transactional nature—were determined to be different than the risks associated with the activities that form an essential component of in-person religious worship and the celebration of faith.

The court also concluded that plaintiffs' religious freedom rights under §2 of the Charter were not infringed, saying in part:

In my view, the limitation on the religious freedom of the appellants stemming from the G&E orders has been shown to be a proportionate one in light of the unprecedented risk to public health that arose during the second wave of the virus, the need to take precautions to stop preventable deaths from occurring, and the need to protect the capacity of the healthcare system....

[T]here was an ample evidentiary basis upon which the PHO could reasonably conclude that, when faith-based communities gathered for worship, the risk of transmission was unacceptably high.... [O]bservance of the liturgy requires a spiritual communion of faith that involves participation of the congregation in physically intimate acts—sharing communion, prayer, and song. These activities were known to be associated with a heightened risk of transmission.... [T]here is no proper basis upon which a reviewing court could interfere with the scientific determinations underlying the PHO’s orders....

CBC News reports on the decision.

Tuesday, December 13, 2022

Canadian Court Says School Demonstration of Indigenous Rituals Did Not Violate Religious Freedom

In Servatius v. Alberni School District No. 70, (BC CA, Dec. 12, 2022), the Court of Appeal for the Canadian province of British Columbia held that a public elementary school did not violate the religious freedom rights of an evangelical Protestant mother when her daughters' classes were made to view a demonstration of indigenous cultural practices. A Nuu-chah-nulth elder demonstrated a smudging ceremony and at a later time a hoop dancer performed at a school assembly and said a prayer during his performance. The appeals court agreed with the trial judge's conclusion that there was no violation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms because the children merely viewed, and did not participate in the smudging or the prayer. The court said: "religious freedom is not compromised when students are taught about other beliefs." CTV News reports on the decision.

Friday, October 21, 2022

Canadian Court Sentences Former Politician on Charge of Antisemitic Hate Speech

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 in a video posted on the party's website and social media accounts.

Travis Patron, who founded the now-defunct party, was convicted of wilfully promoting hate by a jury earlier this month during a trial in Estevan, Sask.

Justice Neil Robertson of Court of King's Bench accepted the Crown's recommendation that the 31-year-old serve one year behind bars.

Friday, August 12, 2022

Data On Canadian Hate Crimes Released

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 hate crimes targeting religion (+354 incidents, +67%).... 

Police-reported hate crimes targeting the Jewish (+47%), Muslim (+71%) and Catholic (+260%) religions were up. The increase in hate crimes targeting the Muslim population follows a similar decrease in 2020; the increase also occurred in the same year as an attack in London, Ontario which targeted a Muslim family and resulted in four homicides and one attempted homicide.... In 2021, there were discoveries of unmarked graves on former residential school sites. Following these discoveries, there were reports of hate incidents targeting the Indigenous population as well as churches and other religious institutions....

JNS reports on the data.

Tuesday, July 26, 2022

Pope Francis Apologizes To Canada's Indigenous Peoples For Residential School System

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 how the policies of assimilation and enfranchisement, which also included the residential school system, were devastating for the people of these lands.... I think back on the stories you told: how the policies of assimilation ended up systematically marginalizing the indigenous peoples; how also through the system of residential schools your languages and cultures were denigrated and suppressed; how children suffered physical, verbal, psychological and spiritual abuse; how they were taken away from their homes at a young age, and how that indelibly affected relationships between parents and children, grandparents and grandchildren....

Although Christian charity was not absent, and there were many outstanding instances of devotion and care for children, the overall effects of the policies linked to the residential schools were catastrophic. What our Christian faith tells us is that this was a disastrous error, incompatible with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is painful to think of how the firm soil of values, language and culture that made up the authentic identity of your peoples was eroded, and that you have continued to pay the price of this. In the face of this deplorable evil, the Church kneels before God and implores his forgiveness for the sins of her children.... I myself wish to reaffirm this, with shame and unambiguously. I humbly beg forgiveness for the evil committed by so many Christians against the indigenous peoples.

Vatican News reports on the Pope's address.

Wednesday, January 12, 2022

Tai Chi Class Sites Are Not Places of Worship For Tax Exemption Law In Ontario

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 of worship" as that term is used in Ontario's Assessment Act. The court said in part:

Use of a property as a place of worship is different than other uses to which religious organizations can put property.  Evangelization efforts for example....

MPAC argues that the application judge accepted that religious expression and activities occur at the Satellite Sites.  However, in order to create an exemption for those properties, those activities must constitute acts of worship, a more narrow form of activity than the simple act of conducting a practice that has religious connotation.

CTV News reports on the decision.

Tuesday, October 26, 2021

Canadian Court Upholds Job Program Funding Limited To Groups Supporting Abortion Rights

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 claimed that the attestation went beyond the Ministry's authority, was added at the behest of an abortion rights lobby, and infringes their freedom of religion and of speech. The court said in part:

[191] As found, the Attestation was a reasonable policy decision and within the Minister’s authority in accordance with the DESDA [Department of Employment and Social Development Act]. The decision to add the Attestation was not made with a closed mind, for improper purposes, or based on irrelevant considerations.

[192] The effect of the Attestation restricted or limited the Applicants’ rights to freedom of religion and protection against compelled speech, but only minimally and only in the context of the application for 2018 CSJ [Canadian Summer Jobs] funding. The limitation on the Applicants’ Charter rights reflects a proportionate balancing with the objectives of the DESDA and the CSJ program.

National Post reports on the decision.

Friday, October 22, 2021

Canadian Court Upholds COVID Restrictions On Churches

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 the restrictions infringed the rights to freedom of conscience and religion; freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression; and freedom of peaceful assembly, the Public Health Orders are constitutionally justifiable as reasonable limits under Section 1 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The court said in part:

[T]he decision to temporarily close places of worship and otherwise limit the size of gatherings, was rational, reasoned and defensible in the circumstances of an undeniable public health crisis.

The court went on to conclude that the restrictions did not infringe the rights of liberty or security and did not amount to religious discrimination. The court said in part:

It is the position of the applicants that the impugned PHOs discriminate on the basis of religion in that they classify liquour, cannabis and big-box retailers as “essential” and therefore allow them to remain open [while they] classify churches and religious gatherings as “non-essential”.... Put simply, the applicants submit that it is discriminatory to allow people to assemble in liquor and grocery stores, but not worship at church.... [T]he applicants have inaccurately described Manitoba’s use of the adjective “essential” as it relates to churches and religious gatherings just as they have also failed to appreciate that the distinction in question (between what is permitted to remain open and what must remain closed) is not based on religion.

The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms issued a press release discussing the decision.

Tuesday, May 25, 2021

Canadian Supreme Court Refuses To Invalidate Archbishop's Expulsion of Church Members

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 as heretical. The members argued that their expulsions violated principles of natural justice because they had no opportunity to hear or contest the charges against them. The court held, however, that "there is no free‑standing right to procedural fairness with respect to decisions taken by voluntary associations." The court explained its decision:

Jurisdiction to intervene in the affairs of a voluntary association depends on the existence of a legal right which the court is asked to vindicate. Here, the only viable candidate for a legal right justifying judicial intervention is contract. The finding of a contract between members of a voluntary association does not automatically follow from the existence of a written constitution and bylaws. Voluntary associations with constitutions and bylaws may be constituted by contract, but this is a determination that must be made on the basis of general contract principles, and objective intention to enter into legal relations is required. In this case, evidence of an objective intention to enter into legal relations is missing. As such, there is no contract, there is no jurisdiction, and there is no genuine issue requiring a trial.

Canadian law however does permit courts to intervene in religious decisions more readily than America courts are willing to do, as illustrated by this summary by the Court:

[W]hile purely theological issues are not justiciable ..., where a legal right is at issue, courts may need to consider questions that have a religious aspect in vindicating the legal right.... For example, courts adjudicating disputes over church property may need to consider adherence to the church’s internal rules, even where those rules are meant to give effect to religious commitments.  

Law Times reports on the decision.

Wednesday, April 21, 2021

Canadian Trial Court Upholds Most Applications of Quebec's Ban On Officials Wearing Religious Symbols

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 their official functions. (See prior posting.) Here is CBC News' summary of the decision:

Quebec's secularism law violates the basic rights of religious minorities in the province, but those violations are permissible because of the Constitution's notwithstanding clause, a Superior Court judge ruled on Tuesday.

But the ruling by Justice Marc-André Blanchard also declared that the most contentious parts of the law — the religious symbols ban for many government employees — can't be applied to English schools.

The desire of English school boards to foster diversity by choosing who they hire is protected by the minority-language education rights in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Blanchard said in his decision.

Crucially, that section of the charter (23) is not covered by the notwithstanding clause....

Blanchard also ruled that members of the province's National Assembly can't be forced to provide services to the public with their faces uncovered.

In other words, MNAs are allowed to wear religious symbols that cover their faces, such as a niqab, in accordance with the section of the charter that guarantees every citizen the right to be eligible to vote and be a member of the legislature.

Quebec's Justice Minister says that an appeal is planned. Montreal Gazette and the New York Times also analyze the decision.

Tuesday, February 23, 2021

Canada's House of Commons Declares China's Actions Against Uighurs To Be Genocide

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 cabinet abstained from voting.

An amendment to the motion, proposed by Bloc Quebecois MP Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, calling on the International Olympic Committee to move the 2022 Olympic Games out of China if the genocide continues also passed 229 to 29 votes.

Thursday, February 18, 2021

Canadian Court Refuses To Order Churches To Follow Health Orders Pending Hearing On Constitutionality

In Beaudoin v. British Columbia, (BC Sup. Ct., Feb. 17, 2021), a trial court in the Canadian province of British Columbia refused to issue an interlocutory injunction requiring three churches who are petitioners in the case to comply with COVID-19 public health orders banning in-person religious services in the province. The churches, clergy and another plaintiff filed suit challenging the public health orders as being in violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. A hearing on this challenge is scheduled for March 1.  Pending that hearing, the government sought immediate injunctions to prevent the churches from continuing to hold in-person services. Refusing to issue the requested injunction, the court said in part:

I am left to wonder what would be achieved by the issuance of an injunction in this case....

When asked, counsel for the respondents said that the respondents accept that the petitioners’ beliefs are deeply held, but in response to my question as to why an injunction was sought, responded that while the petitioners and others like them are not dissuaded from their beliefs and practices by the impugned orders, an order from this Court is more likely to accomplish their compliance.

Given the other remedies available to the respondents, I have reservations that an injunction alone, without enforcement by the B.C. Prosecution Service, would overcome the deeply held beliefs of the petitioners and their devotees.... 

Vancouver Sun reports on the decision.

Friday, September 04, 2020

Canada, Netherlands Will Assist In Case Against Myanmar For Genocide Against Rohingya

 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 that violate the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. In an initial decision, the International Court imposed provisional measures on Myanmar.  In their Joint Statement, Canada and the Netherlands said in part:

The Gambia took a laudable step towards ending impunity for those committing atrocities in Myanmar and upholding this pledge. Canada and the Netherlands consider it our obligation to support these efforts which are of concern to all of humanity. As part of this intervention, Canada and the Kingdom of the Netherlands will assist with the complex legal issues that are expected to arise and will pay special attention to crimes related to sexual and gender-based violence, including rape.

Al Jazeera reports on these developments.

Thursday, July 30, 2020

Canadian Court Says Catholic Archdiocese Is Vicariously Liable For Sexual Abuse At Orphanage

In John Doe v. Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation of St. John's, (Newfoundland & Labrador Ct. App., July 28, 2020), the Court of Appeal in the Canadian province of Newfoundland, in a 136-page opinion, held that the Catholic Archdiocese is vicariously liable for sexual abuse suffered by the four plaintiffs.  Five members of the Christian Brothers abused plaintiffs in the 1950's when they were living at the Mount Cashel Orphanage. The court said in part:
In our view, the total relationship between the Brothers at Mount Cashel and the Archdiocese shows that the Brothers were working on the account of the Archdiocese’s social and religious mandate. Their relationship was sufficiently close, and the connection between the Brothers’ assigned tasks and their wrongdoing was sufficiently close, to justify the imposition of vicarious liability on the Archdiocese. Doing so in the circumstances of this case upholds the policy objectives of the doctrine. 
The court held however that the Archdiocese is not liable for a chaplain's failure to act after he learned of the abuse, saying in part:
As Monsignor Ryan was not negligent and did not breach a fiduciary duty, there is no basis upon which the Archdiocese could be liable for his conduct.
Canadian Press reports on the decision.

Friday, December 13, 2019

Church of Atheism Not A Charity Under Canadian Tax Law

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 turn to the common law to answer this question. At common law, there are four recognized charitable purposes, the two relevant to this appeal being “the advancement of religion” and “certain other purposes beneficial to the community” ....
Turning therefore to section 2(a) of the Charter, the appellant is correct to point out that the courts have found that this section does protect the rights of atheists.... However, I find in this case that the Minister’s refusal to register the appellant as a charitable organization does not interfere in a manner that is more than trivial or insubstantial with the appellant’s members ability to practise their atheistic beliefs. The appellant can continue to carry out its purpose and its activities without charitable registration....
Law & Religion UK reports at greater length on the decision.

Appeals Court Refuses Temporary Injunction Against Quebec's Secularism Act

In Hak v. Attorney General of Quebec, (Quebec Ct. App., Dec. 12, 2019) (full text of opinion in French), the Quebec Court of Appeal, by a 2-1 vote, upheld a trial court's refusal to issue a temporary injunction against the enforcement of two provisions of the Secularism Act (Bill 21). The sections at issue bar teachers, as well as various other public employees and officials, from wearing religious symbols in carrying out their official duties, and prohibit various public employees from carrying out their functions with their face covered. The individual plaintiff in the case who is about to graduate as a teacher wants to wear her hijab while teaching French in an English elementary or high school.

Judge Belanger refused to grant the temporary injunction, saying in part:
What the Attorney General invokes in this case and with reason, that is the presumption that the legislation addresses the common good . At this stage of the proceedings, the Court must assume that the Act serves a valid public purpose. Unless it is clear that the law enacted is not intended to serve a public purpose, the courts must take it for granted.
It follows from this principle that the courts will not suspend legislation passed by a legislature without having made a full constitutional review. Accordingly, suspension orders are only issued in clear cases.
We must recognize that we are not in a clear case where we can say right now that the Act is unconstitutional, despite the presence of serious issues.
Judge Mainville would likewise refuse a temporary injunction, saying in part:
[W]hen, as here, questions arise about the relationship between the state and religions, on which deep differences may reasonably exist within a free and democratic society, there is a need for courts to act with caution and circumspection because of the diversity of approaches to these issues and the difficulty of forming a uniform understanding of the meaning of religion in society. The role and impact of religion in society, as well as the forms of public expression of religious belief, are not the same in different times and contexts. They vary according to changing sociological and ideological factors, national traditions and demands imposed by the protection of the rights and freedoms of others and the maintenance of public order in a given society. The conception of the religious symbolism and its place in the public space are not perceived in the same way by each society.The State Secularism Act is a striking example in Canada.
It should therefore be noted that many of the issues relating to the wearing of religious symbols by police officers, teachers, principals and judicial personnel in Quebec - including the legal issues that arise - are complex and do not lend themselves to summary analyzes on the basis of piecemeal evidence, as the appellants ask us to do in this case.....
At this stage of the judicial proceedings, a suspension of sections 6 and 8 of the State Secularity Act can not be contemplated since the Court must presume that the public interest is served by the maintenance in force of these provisions given the presumption of constitutional validity. 
Chief Justice Hesler would have granted a temporary injunction, saying in part:
To sum up, it appears at this stage that the risk of suffering irreparable harm has materialized for certain teachers, all of whom are women, who aspired to a career in teaching. The prejudice will remain for the others who, not wishing to abandon the wearing of a religious sign, will have to give up their choice of career, or even move out of Quebec....
Without prejudging the fate of the appeal, which will be heard in October 2020, it is better to uphold respect for fundamental rights during the proceedings, considering the obligation on the courts to enforce these rights, rather than to deprive people of their fundamental rights, even for a limited time. [All English translations are via Google Translate].
Montreal Gazette reports on the decision.