When Freedom Of Religion Competes With Equality Rights: A Look At The York University Controversy

The University of York has garnered significant attention for a recent incident involving a Sociology professor, J. Paul Grayson, and an unnamed student who requested accommodation.

The difficulty arises from the nature of the student's request. He asked, based on his belief in an unnamed religion - I will assume for the purpose of this article that the belief was sincerely held - that he be excused from a group project in which he would have to work with women. His religious beliefs allegedly included a belief that men and women should not intermingle.

Grayson gave the request serious consideration. He brought it to the attention of the administration; he spoke to colleagues in the Department of Religion. The University instructed him to grant the student's requested accommodation. In an act of great integrity, Grayson nevertheless refused the student's request. According to the National Post,

Mr. Grayson ultimately ignored university brass and, together with his departmental colleagues, passed a resolution stating that "accommodations for students will not be made if they contribute to material or symbolic marginalizations of other students, faculty or teaching assistants."

Ultimately, the student went forward and participated in the project despite his stated concerns.

In a further act of integrity, Grayson has come forward with the details of the controversy. The University has stubbornly held fast to its decision that the student's request not to work with women students should have been accommodated. Of importance to the University's analysis was that Grayson had previously accommodated another student's request to complete course work off campus as the student was out of country. This student's request had nothing to do with either religious rights or a refusal to work with women.

Conflicting and competing rights are nothing new under either the Charter or under human rights legislation. * Indeed, various permutations of such conflicts arise all the time. Religious rights and right to free speech; conflicting religious beliefs; sexual orientation and religious rights; the list is endless. Where there are two competing Charter rights or values at stake, what is required is a careful analysis and definition of the competing rights and the values they reflect, and how these rights and values relate to one another: Multani v. Commission scolaire Marguerite-Bourgeoys, 2006 SCC 6 at para. 153

The Supreme Court of Canada has clearly and...