Jehovah’s Witnesses challenge restrictive bylaw

Quebec judge to decide if religious freedom is being violated

CW staff
From reports
— Blainville, QC —

The question of whether a municipality can restrict door-to-door visits by religious groups such as Jehovah’s Witnesses is at the centre of a court challenge in Quebec.

Justice Jean Crepeau of Quebec Superior Court must decide if a bylaw passed by the community of Blainville in 1996 violates the right to freedom of expression and religion.

The city, about 30 kilometres north of Montreal, argues its law, which requires religious groups to obtain a permit before going door to door, is protecting its residents’ right to privacy.

The city’s lawyer said that fundamental freedoms must, in certain cases, have restrictions. City officials said the bylaw was a response to complaints by residents that visits by Jehovah’s Witnesses were disruptive, especially on weekends. Blainville is believed to be the only municipality in Canada that has drafted and applied such a law.

The Jehovah’s Witnesses are asking the court to quash the bylaw, which singles out religious groups by requiring a $25 annual permit for door-to-door non-commercial visits. Individual fines for violating the bylaw range from $250 to $1,000, with an additional fine of $2,000 for the congregation.

A Jehovah’s Witnesses lawyer pointed to testimony that only 11 of 45,000 complaints the city has received in the last five years named the Jehovah’s Witnesses. All of those complaints were filed after the bylaw was already in effect. He accused Blainville of stripping residents of their rights to decide for themselves whether to have a conversation, or to refuse one, in their own homes.

The Blainville mayor testified that police have not enforced the bylaw equally, for example, with politicians on the campaign trail or charities selling candy.