The 2019 Judicial Freedom Index - An analysis of Supreme Court of Canada rulings on Charter section 2 fundamental freedoms, 1982-2018

The Supreme Court has significantly reshaped freedom of conscience and religion jurisprudence over the last five years, such as strengthening the legal doctrine of the duty of state neutrality in matters of belief in the 2015 case of Mouvement laïque québécois v Saguenay (City), and implicitly lowering the threshold for the justification of government limitations on freedom of conscience and relig. [...] By not taking into account the impact of its decision on the right to freedom of religion of the members of TWU, the BCCT did not weigh the various rights involved in its assessment of the alleged discriminatory practices of TWU. [...] At the start of each meeting, the mayor would recite a prayer after making the sign of the cross while saying “in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit”. [...] The City then adopted a by-law whose purpose was to regulate the recitation of the prayer, and that also changed the wording of the prayer and provided for a two-minute delay between the end of the prayer and the official opening of council meetings. [...] Given the significant benefits to the relevant statutory objectives of promoting diversity and inclusion within the legal profession and the minor significance of the limitation on the Charter rights at issue, the LSBC’s decision to refuse the approval of TWU's proposed law school represented a proportionate balance under the existing framework.