November 15, 1955 - Religious Freedom - a podcast by Stephen Hammond

Supreme Court of Canada upholds religious freedom. One Sunday afternoon in 1949, approximately 30 Jehovah’s Witnesses took part in a religious service at the house of Esymier Chaput in Chapeau, Quebec. Suddenly, three provincial police officers entered the house, broke up the service and confiscated a Bible, hymn books, a number of religious pamphlets and the collection box. The officers then dispersed the group and escorted the minister out of town. Chaput took the police to court, only to lose at both the trial division and the Quebec Court of Appeal. However, on November 15, 1955, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the police had acted illegally and criminally – and awarded Chaput $2,000. Justice Taschereau wrote, “In our country, there does not exist a state religion. No one is required to follow someone else’s belief. All religions are on the same footing, and all Catholics, as well as others such as Protestants, Jews or other adherents of different religious faiths, have complete freedom to believe as they wish. The conscience of everyone is a personal affair and not that of anyone else. It would be terrible to think that a majority could impose their religious views on a minority.”

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