SUPREME COURT OF CANADA DECISION IMPACTS ON RIGHT TO RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

Ottawa, April 11, 2003

For Immediate Release

Ottawa, April 11, 2003… B’nai Brith Canada’s League for Human Rights has received leave to appeal a decision of the Quebec Court of Appeal that, in effect, limited the right of individuals to free expression of their religion.

The decision involved a permanent injunction granted in 1998 to a condominium corporation in Montreal, preventing residential owners from erecting temporary sukkahs on their own balconies for the week-long Jewish religious holiday of Succot, also known as the Festival of Tabernacles. The League joined several individual owners who were adversely affected by this decision in countering the ruling.

“We are very pleased with this development,” said Steven Slimovitch, a Montreal lawyer and Legal Counsel for the League for Human Rights. “The dispute may be within a condominium corporation, but it has broad implications. Key issues concerning the fundamental right to religious freedom and the role of the court in interpreting that freedom are at stake here.”

Frank Dimant, Executive Vice President of B’nai Brith Canada, commented: “The importance of this decision is not limited to Quebec alone. The Supreme Court of Canada has recognized its national importance. Our League for Human Rights will continue to intervene in such cases, as it has done in the past, to ensure religious rights are protected by Canadian courts.”

Professor Stephen Scheinberg, National Chair of the League for Human Rights, added: “This case is not just about the right to practice one’s own religion. It is also about whether or not a secular court is competent to rule on the validity of any given religious practice. This case has ramifications for every religious group.”

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For further comment contact:
Steven Slimovitch at 514-928-8971, or Professor Stephen Scheinberg at 514-848-2401.

B’nai Brith has been active in Canada since 1875 as the community’s foremost advocacy and volunteer organization.