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Supreme Court Addresses Freedom of Religion in the Schools

The Supreme Court of Canada has rendered its decision in the case of S.L. v. Commission scolaire des Chenes, a case in which parents sought an exemption for their children from Quebec’s mandatory Ethics and Religious Culture (ERC) course.  The Supreme Court found that the refusal to grant an exemption did not violate the parents’ [...]

Gideon Bible Distribution in the Schools

The issue of public school boards distributing Gideon Bibles is once again before some Ontario school boards.  CCLA has previously expressed concerns about this practice and wrote about the issue to the Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB) on a number of occasions.  The WRDSB subsequently rescinded their policy on the distribution of non-instructional religious [...]

Supreme Court to Consider Issue of Niqab in the Courtroom

The Supreme Court of Canada will consider an appeal which looks at the issue of whether a sexual assault complainant may testify in Court while wearing a niqab for religious reasons.  The case, on appeal from the Ontario Court of Appeal, arose when one of the defendants in a sexual assault case claimed that his [...]

CCLA Writes to the MNDMF Concerning KI Aboriginal Community’s Burial and Sacred Sites

The CCLA has written to the Minister of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry (MNDMF) regarding a potential threat to traditional aboriginal burial sites and sacred lands that has resulted from a proposed mining and development project.  In its letter, CCLA reminded the Minister of certain implications of Canada’s constitutional protection for freedom of religion, including [...]

No Secular School Option in Alberta Community of Significant Concern to CCLA

The CCLA is deeply concerned about the situation in Alberta, where a community has been repeatedly denied a public secular school option for their children.  The Greater St. Albert Catholic Regional Division (“GSACRD”) is the public school board in the Greater St. Albert region.  This school division offers an education where “Catholic theology, philosophy, practices [...]