Mel Smith Lecture addresses religious freedom

Posted by admin on Mar 10, 2010 in News | 0 comments

The 12th annual Mel Smith lecture and scholarship presentation was held at Trinity Western University on March 4. The event featured a keynote address delivered by Dr. Janet Epp Buckingham entitled “Grain trucks, graven images, and grave consequences: The impact of the charter on religious communities.”

Prior to the lecture, the Mel Smith Scholarship Award was presented to third-year student Carla Breadon of Vancouver, B.C. Beverly Smith, wife of the late Mel Smith, presented the award. Each year, this endowment award is granted to a TWU political studies or Canadian history student of “exceptional academic ability.”
Breadon, who is working on an honours political science degree with a French minor, has a 4.0 GPA and plays on the TWU women’s soccer team. She plans to attend the Laurentian Leadership Centre in her fourth year, and continue on to law school after completing her TWU degree.

Each Mel Smith Scholarship Award recipient is required to prepare a research paper on a Canadian constitutional issue, which is published in the TWU archives. Breadon plans to address issues “pertaining to the constitutional place of women in Canada.” Additionally, she has a research interest in legal issues relating to aboriginals in Canada.

While the scholarship is a key part of Mel Smith’s legacy, the annual lecture is a major focal point and a highlight for many. Each year, a prominent Canadian presents a lecture addressing a significant national and constitutional issue. Previous topics have ranged from aboriginal self-government to B.C.’s role in constitutional reform to citizenship engagement. Speakers have included Preston Manning, Chuck Strahl and Deborah Gray.

This year, Buckingham, associate professor at TWU and director of the LLC, discussed the issue of religious freedom in Canada through the lens of legal precedents and progress. Buckingham also holds a doctorate of law and has extensive experience working with law and public policy, particularly as it applies to Christians and religion in Canada.

During her lecture, Buckingham described how law has been and is currently applied to protect (or not) religious freedom in Canada. She gives a play-by-play analysis of precedent-setting cases, explaining the significance of each court decision.

A key theme established by the law and courts is the accommodation of people on the basis of their religious beliefs, “unless it causes undue hardship.” Buckingham highlights cases where this has been upheld, as well as cases where people have not been accommodated.

Overall, Buckingham argues that – on paper at least – there is significant religious freedom in Canada, and the courts generally respect this. However, there are some red flags and current cases to watch carefully – the recent emergence of the CAUT case, for example. There are challenging issues ahead, Buckingham stresses, and religious freedom cannot be taken for granted.