Canadians: Tell Ontario legislature to stop power-grab by chief electoral officer
(Justice Center for Constitutional Freedoms) —The small town of Waterloo, Quebec, is facing this very question. How it is answered could upset decades of law that protects religious freedom in Quebec.
After his own son committed suicide, Claude Tremblay founded the charity Le Groupe Jaspe in 1999. He and a group of passionate volunteers set out to knock on every door of Quebec’s 1,000 cities and towns to “break isolation and promote dialogue with suicidal and desperate people.”
Over the past 25 years, Le Groupe Jaspe and its 70 volunteers have nearly accomplished the goal of its founder, reaching the people of 50 cities and 771 villages with a powerful message about the value of life.
Think how many lives have been impacted because a volunteer knocked on the right door at the right time.
Today, their vital work is being threatened.
Waterloo silences a message about suicide prevention
Earlier this year, the city of Waterloo ticketed a member of Le Groupe Jaspe for violating a bylaw by soliciting without a permit, even though Quebec law recognizes the right of people to share a moral or religious message door-to-door.
In this case, the city prosecutor seems to be misinterpreting Quebec’s secularism law, passed in 2019, which promotes the separation of state and religion. This prosecutor seems to think that “secularism” and “state neutrality” mean that religious expression no longer deserves constitutional protection.
Should the state have the power to block religious messages from reaching the public ear?
With help from the Justice Centre, Le Groupe Jaspe is challenging the application of this bylaw for violating their freedoms of expression and religion – protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and also supported by Quebec court rulings, which are binding precedents. Our legal team will be in court in early 2025 to defend Le Groupe Jaspe from being silenced.
If Waterloo wins in court, it would create a new precedent that threatens the charter freedoms of expression, conscience, and religion. The separation of church and state should not become an excuse for undermining the freedom of every Canadian to practice a religious faith, or to live one’s life based on one’s deepest convictions, or to share one’s beliefs with other people.
If the city of Waterloo succeeds in court, the outcome will not just silence Le Groupe Jaspe. It will set a dangerous precedent for religious freedom in Quebec and throughout Canada.
A history of protecting religious freedom
This is not the first time a Quebec municipality has tried to stifle religious expression.
In 1996, the City of Blainville passed a bylaw requiring door-to-door salespeople to secure a $100 permit before canvassing people at home. Police then ticketed 17 Jehovah’s Witnesses, accusing them of violating the bylaw. The religious group fought back and won their case in the Quebec Court of Appeal in 2003. The court noted that equating Jehovah’s Witnesses to salespeople was an insult to their religion, and that they were performing a valuable community service by addressing serious topics like drugs, alcoholism, and divorce.
In a similar manner, Claude Tremblay was also ticketed in 2015 for “soliciting without a permit” in a Quebec village after knocking on doors with his message about suicide prevention. However, the court declared that the ticket violated his constitutional right to freedom of religion, applying the 2003 Blainville case precedent.
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Now, the city of Waterloo is appealing to Quebec’s “secularism” law as a pretext for rejecting this precedent. The prosecutor is undermining the freedoms of expression and religion upon which Le Groupe Jaspe – and every Canadian – depend. Precedents do not stop at borders. Municipalities across Canada could use similar reasoning to silence religious expression.
This battle will soon be before the court.
Spread the word
This case could establish a precedent that other provinces notice. Share this story with your friends and family to build awareness.
What is happening in Quebec is government overreach, and our lawyers are committed to fighting it.
This legal battle is critical. But so is the message of Le Groupe Jaspe. Approximately 12 Canadians die by suicide every day. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among young Canadians. Government has no business trying to hinder or undermine organizations like Le Groupe Jaspe, which strive to bring messages of hope and support to vulnerable Canadians.
Reprinted with permission from the Justice Center for Constitutional Freedoms.
Canadians: Tell Ontario legislature to stop power-grab by chief electoral officer