TORONTO — Harini Sivalingam, Director of the Equality Program of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, made the following statement:
The Canadian Civil Liberties Association has been granted leave to intervene in S.D. v District School Board of Niagara at the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal. This case arises from a human rights complaint filed by the family of a student who asserts that they experienced discrimination and unwanted religious pressure while attending a publicly funded high school in Ontario.
CCLA is intervening in this case to ensure that public schools are welcoming and safe learning environments for all students. Everyone has the right to attend public schools that are free from religious and/or ethnic discrimination, and no student should be coerced into receiving unwanted religious instruction. Public schools should provide equitable educational services to all students and should not preclude students from learning opportunities due to differences in religious faith, ancestry or ethnic origin. Failing to create a welcoming learning environment for all students infringes on the equality rights of students from diverse religious faiths and backgrounds.
CCLA’s submissions to the Tribunal will address how Charter values embodied in and protected under sections 2(a), and 15 should inform the Tribunal’s analysis of whether a public school’s policies, procedures and practices constitute discrimination on the basis of creed, ancestry and/or ethnic origin under the Ontario Human Rights Code. CCLA will also argue the Tribunal ought to interrupt relevant provisions of the Education Act in light of these Charter values.
CCLA is grateful to be represented pro bono on this intervention by Stuart Svonkin of Chernos Flaherty Svonkin LLP.
The CCLA is an independent, non-profit organization with supporters from across the country. Founded in 1964, the CCLA is a national human rights organization committed to defending the rights, dignity, safety, and freedoms of all people in Canada.
media@ccla.org
About the Canadian Civil Liberties Association
The CCLA is an independent, non-profit organization with supporters from across the country. Founded in 1964, the CCLA is a national human rights organization committed to defending the rights, dignity, safety, and freedoms of all people in Canada.
For the Media
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