Over 60 faith leaders and organizations in Canada have signed a letter addressed to The Honourable Jody Wilson-Raybould, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, concerning the removal of section 176 from the Criminal Code of Canada, as proposed under Clause 14 of Bill C-51, “An Act to Amend the Criminal Code and the Department of Justice Act and to Make Consequential Amendments to Another Act”. The interfaith letter was co-authored by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, and the Association for Reformed Political Action. Representatives from a variety of faith traditions have endorsed the letter, including from the Sikh, Jewish, Muslim, Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, and Buddhist traditions.

The Conference also intervened on 30 October 2017 concerning Clause 14 of Bill C-51, which included a written submission to the House of Commons’ Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, followed by oral presentations before the Standing Committee by the Most Reverend Lionel Gendron, P.S.S., Bishop of Saint-Jean-Longueuil and President of the CCCB and His Eminence Thomas Cardinal Collins, Archbishop of Toronto, with the assistance of Mr. Bruce F. Simpson, a partner specialized in criminal law with Barnes Sammon LLP.
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Yesterday, the Supreme Court of Canada reaffirmed that government actors have a duty to specifically consider religious freedom concerns when raised by claimants in its Ktunaxa Nation v. British Columbia decision. This historic case – the first Indigenous religious freedom claim to be heard by the Supreme Court – raised questions about the scope of religious freedom, and the means by which religious communities can practise and manifest their faith. Christian Legal Fellowship (CLF) and The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC) jointly intervened in the case.

The litigation arose from a proposed ski resort on land that is sacred to the Ktunaxa people. The Ktunaxa Nation opposed the development on the basis that it would desecrate the sacred site and would interfere with a variety of their spiritual practices.

The British Columbia Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resources approved the development but did not specifically address how the decision would impact the Ktunaxa Nation’s section 2(a) Charter right to freedom of religion.

The Supreme Court upheld the Minister’s ultimate decision; however, the Court was divided 7-2 on some of their underlying reasons.
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