This week, the BC Humanist Association was among dozens of groups presenting arguments at the Supreme Court of Canada in one of the largest cases of the year.
In English Montreal School Board, et al. v. Attorney General of Quebec, et al., the court is set to determine the constitutionality of Quebec's religious symbols ban, implemented under Bill 21. While the province invoked the notwithstanding clause to pre-emptively shield the legislation from judicial scrutiny, the different parties have advanced various arguments challenging the bill in different ways.
The BC Humanist Association and Canadian Secular Alliance intervened as pro-secular organizations to provide guidance to the court on the interpretation of the state's duty of religious neutrality. Our organizations were represented by Wes McMillan and you can watch his arguments below.
“When politics dominates religion, it's authoritarian. When religion dominates politics, it's theocratic. Canada is neither authoritarian nor theocratic,” McMillan told the court.
Watch the full webcasts of the hearings at the Supreme Court of Canada
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