Supreme Court Of Canada Agrees With Quebec Catholic School Regarding Religious Freedom

On March 19, 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada released its decision in Loyola High School v. Quebec (Attorney General).1 The case concerned an application by Loyola High School, a private Catholic school in Quebec ("Loyola") for an exemption from the requirement to teach an Ethics, Religion and Culture course (the "ERC"). Loyola argued that the ERC course was incompatible with the school's Catholic identity.

The Quebec Minister of Education, Recreation and Sport (the "Minister") denied Loyola an exemption, and the Quebec Court of Appeal upheld the Minister's decision. The Supreme Court of Canada overturned the Court of Appeal's decision and ordered the Minister to reconsider the decision.

A seven-member panel heard the case at the Supreme Court.2

Justice Abella wrote for herself and Justices Lebel, Cromwell and Karakatsanis. Chief Justice McLachlin and Justice Moldaver wrote separate reasons that were concurred in by Justice Rothstein.

The Quebec Attorney General had argued that Loyola, being a corporation, did not have the right to freedom of religion under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and that, accordingly, freedom of religion could not be invoked in this case. The Court unanimously disagreed.

Having dealt with that threshold issue, the Court held unanimously that there had been a substantial infringement of Loyola's freedom of religion and that that infringement could not be justified. Both groups of judges concluded that Loyola, as a consequence of its constitutionally-protected freedom of religion, could not be forced to disengage from its Catholic mission and identity in the teaching of the Catholic faith and Catholic morals.

That said, all seven judges also ruled, in two slightly different ways, that other faiths and other ethical positions must be presented objectively and in a way that promotes respect and tolerance for those who adhere to those faiths and ethical views.

In the result, the majority group set aside the Minister's decision and remitted that matter to him for reconsideration.

THE ETHICS, RELIGION AND CULTURE COURSE

The Quebec government had made the ERC a mandatory part of the secondary school curriculum in September, 2008. The Court described the course as "the most recent step in the process of the secularization of the [Quebec] school system".3 The course covers world religions, with a primary focus on Protestantism and Catholicism. Its key objectives, as stated are: (1) the "recognition of others"...