B'nai Brith Canada wins in landmark supreme court case onreligious freedoms

[Douglas Laycock]

         I wondered that too, but I don't know the answer.  A reliable 
friend sent me the release, and it contains all I know.

At 03:52 PM 7/1/2004 -0400, you wrote:
>Doug,
>
>Was the condiminium corporation at issue here a public housing facility, 
>or does the Charter of Rights apply to private actors as well?
>
>Nate Oman
>
>---------- Original Message ----------------------------------
>From: Douglas Laycock <DLaycock at mail.law.utexas.edu>
>Reply-To: Law & Religion issues for Law Academics <religionlaw at lists.ucla.edu>
>Date: Thu, 01 Jul 2004 14:45:26 -0500
>
> >         This is not my prose, but someone else's press release -- B'nai
> >Brith Canada's I think.  I doubt we could get the same result in many U.S.
> >jurisdictions.
> >
> >>B'nai Brith Canada wins in landmark supreme court case
> >>on religious freedoms
> >>
> >>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
> >>
> >>
> >>June 30, 2004.
> >>
> >>MONTREAL - In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court of Canada has upheld
> >>the rights of all Canadians to follow their religious practices without
> >>interference by the courts.
> >>
> >>In what is widely seen as an illustration of this point, the Supreme
> >>Court of Canada has ruled that Jewish condominium owners in a Montreal
> >>building have the right to set up their own personal Succahs, temporary
> >>religious huts that are constructed in celebration of the Jewish holiday
> >>of Succot. B'nai Brith Canada's League for Human Rights had intervened
> >>in the matter following the initial refusal of the condominium
> >>corporation to allow observant Jewish residents to construct individual
> >>huts on their own balconies.
> >>
> >>Allan Adel, National Chair of B'nai Brith's League for Human Rights,
> >>reacting to the news, stated: "We are satisfied with the decision of the
> >>Supreme Court, which has applied a broad interpretation to the Charter
> >>guarantee of freedom of religion and believe it to be in the best
> >>interests of all Canadians. The Succah ruling is an important,
> >>groundbreaking case that champions the cause of religious freedom in
> >>Canada and will have important ramifications well beyond the immediate
> >>facts of the case."
> >>
> >>Montreal lawyer Steven Slimovitch along with B'nai Brith's Senior Legal
> >>Counsel David Matas, represented the League before the Court.
> >>Slimovitch, acknowledging that he was pleased with the verdict stated:
> >>"This decision sets an important precedent for the exercise of sincerely
> >>held religious beliefs. The High Court has upheld B'nai Brith's argument
> >>that State should not be the final arbiter of religious dogma. Rather,
> >>this must be a private matter set by each individual."
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>Established in 1875, B'nai Brith is the Canadian Jewish community's
> >>leading human rights agency.
> >>
> >
> >
> >
> >Douglas Laycock
> >University of Texas Law School
> >727 E. Dean Keeton St.
> >Austin, TX  78705
> >         512-232-1341 (voice)
> >         512-471-6988 (fax)
> >         dlaycock at mail.law.utexas.edu
> >
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>
>--
>Nathan Oman
>
>http://www.tutissima.com
>http://www.timesandseasons.org
>--
>_______________________________________________
>To post, send message to Religionlaw at lists.ucla.edu
>To subscribe, unsubscribe, change options, or get password, see 
>http://lists.ucla.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/religionlaw



Douglas Laycock
University of Texas Law School
727 E. Dean Keeton St.
Austin, TX  78705
         512-232-1341 (voice)
         512-471-6988 (fax)
         dlaycock at mail.law.utexas.edu