A devout Catholic who opposes paying dues to one of Canada's largest unions because of its strong support for gay marriage lost a key legal challenge yesterday.Susan Comstock of Toronto, who has worked as a senior federal public servant for almost 35 years, had sought to divert the money to her church in protest.
She unsuccessfully argued that forcing her to pay about $800 a year in dues to the Public Service Alliance of Canada violated her right to freedom of religion and freedom of conscience.
"This is important because it demonstrates that your right to practise your religion is not impaired by paying dues to a union whose views you do not share," said Andrew Raven, a lawyer for the 150,000-member union.
"This was an attack on the right of the union to have a policy that supported the rights of gays and lesbians."
Comstock's lawyer, Phil Horgan, said the ruling is a chilling sign that courts and human rights commissions are increasingly hostile to Canadians who are trying to assert their rights to religious freedom when opposing gay marriage.
"I think it's indicative of a problem Canadians will have in addressing what is becoming a somewhat oppressive environment," said Horgan, president of the Catholic Civil Rights League.
"The reach of these decisions is only starting to be felt."
Horgan cited other rulings that have gone against religious groups, including a fine slapped on the Knights of Columbus in British Columbia for refusing to rent out their hall for a same-sex marriage party.
Comstock, a senior intergovernmental relations officer with the Indian Affairs Department, said she was deeply disappointed by yesterday's decision and would like to appeal it, especially since there is a provision in the federal same-sex marriage law that asserts freedom of religion will be protected.
"I thought this would be a test case for that," said Comstock, who hopes to retire in the next year or so.
She said she found out about her union's support for gay marriage in a memo distributed during the 2004 federal election campaign, in which PSAC vowed "zero tolerance" for homophobia and "heterosexism," which it defined as "the presumption that everyone is heterosexual and that heterosexuality is superior to other forms of loving."
At the time, the then Liberal government had taken steps to make same-sex marriage the law of the land, after a string of court rulings declared the ban on it unconstitutional.
Comstock said in court documents she is so strongly opposed to same-sex marriage that she left the Anglican church because of its "ambiguous" position, becoming a Catholic in 2004.
PSAC's aggressive policy on same-sex marriage "has the effect, at the very least, of making me a moral and social outcast within my union, creating the impression or belief that my contribution in the workplace ... is unwelcome, inferior, and of little or no positive value," she said.
The Federal Court ruling backed the Canadian Human Rights Commission, which rejected Comstock's complaint that she is being discriminated against based on her religious beliefs. "The evidence does not show how her freedom of religion and conscience was compromised by this policy," wrote Justice Frederick Gibson. "The fact that she opposes the union's political or social causes does not force her to act in a way contrary to her beliefs or her conscience."
Comstock had argued she should be able to divert her dues because of a collective agreement clause allowing union members to give their dues to charity when they are members of a religious organization "whose doctrine prevents him or her as a matter of conscience from making financial contributions to an employee organization."
The court, however, noted the Catholic Church does not oppose labour unions and has, in fact, recognized their value.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Disclaimer
No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to either myself or to the blogspot ‘Clerical Whispers’ for any or all of the articles placed here.
The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that I agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.
Sotto Voce
Disclaimer
No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to either myself or to the blogspot ‘Clerical Whispers’ for any or all of the articles placed here.
The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that I agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.
Sotto Voce