In its factum filed with the Supreme Court of Canada today, the BC Humanist Association (BCHA) asks whether Canadians surrender their privacy rights whenever they set foot inside a church, synagogue or mosque.
The BCHA is intervening in Vabuolas v Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia to represent the interests of the ex-religious. The case centres around whether the Jehovah's Witnesses have to provide two former members with their personal records under BC's privacy laws.
The Jehovah's Witnesses have argued that the privacy law breaches their religious freedom, an argument ultimately rejected by an adjudicator with the Privacy Commissioner, the BC Supreme Court and BC Court of Appeal (the BCHA intervened in the latter two cases). Now the Supreme Court of Canada is set to hear arguments between the congregations, the privacy commissioner, the ex-members and nine interveners.
In its factum, the BCHA argues that freedom of religion must include the freedom to leave religion, and that freedom includes informational freedom. Privacy laws exist to protect individual autonomy, dignity and privacy.
The BCHA is being represented at the Supreme Court of Canada by John Trueman, Vivian Li and Noah Faust-Robinson of Allen / McMillan Litigation Counsel.
A hearing date has not been scheduled yet, but it will likely be this fall.