Remember the victory? This documentary has the deets.
Lorna Boschman's documentary "Queers, Christians and Canadian Justice", produced by OUT TV, is available for download on Itunes or Google Play.
With commentary from the perspective of queer Christians of colour, the documentary reviews the high stakes drama of the legal profession voting to overturn its own governing body in order to support queers, and the nail-biting anxiety that the Supreme Court of Canada would repeat its 2001 mistake of approving an education faculty at the university.
The Supreme Court of Canada this time came down on the side of equality rights. They held that no right protected by the Charter is an absolute right: TWU has freedom of religion; queers have the right not to be discriminated against. The Court explained that neither of those rights is absolute; rather, the rights have to be balanced against each other.
The line should be drawn in this way: freedom of religion is a shield, not a sword. The Charter-protected right to freedom of religion is a protection for an individual's belief. It does not mean that the individual can require another person to act in accordance with those beliefs.
Since enforcing the covenant would mean imposing those religious beliefs on others, TWU lost its case.
Within 2 weeks of the loss, TWU ceased requiring students to sign the covenant.
With legal explanations by Susan Ursel, Preston Parsons, and barbara findlay, Lorna's documentary is engaging and informative.
Lorna Boschman's documentary "Queers, Christians and Canadian Justice", produced by OUT TV, is available for download on Itunes or Google Play.
With commentary from the perspective of queer Christians of colour, the documentary reviews the high stakes drama of the legal profession voting to overturn its own governing body in order to support queers, and the nail-biting anxiety that the Supreme Court of Canada would repeat its 2001 mistake of approving an education faculty at the university.
The Supreme Court of Canada this time came down on the side of equality rights. They held that no right protected by the Charter is an absolute right: TWU has freedom of religion; queers have the right not to be discriminated against. The Court explained that neither of those rights is absolute; rather, the rights have to be balanced against each other.
The line should be drawn in this way: freedom of religion is a shield, not a sword. The Charter-protected right to freedom of religion is a protection for an individual's belief. It does not mean that the individual can require another person to act in accordance with those beliefs.
Since enforcing the covenant would mean imposing those religious beliefs on others, TWU lost its case.
Within 2 weeks of the loss, TWU ceased requiring students to sign the covenant.
With legal explanations by Susan Ursel, Preston Parsons, and barbara findlay, Lorna's documentary is engaging and informative.
RSS Feed
