Supreme Court to weigh Jehovah’s Witnesses’ claim of religious exemption from privacy order
Jehovah’s Witnesses elders argued before the Supreme Court that being forced to release former members’ personal files violates their religious freedom.
The Supreme Court heard arguments from Jehovah’s Witnesses elders John Vabuolas and Paul Sidhu, who maintain that a provincial privacy order requiring them to release personal files on former members Gabriel Liberty Wall and Gregory Westgarde breaches their Charter-protected religious liberty. The conflict began when the two ex-congregants sought access to all records about themselves in 2020, which the church refused as confidential religious communication.
After a series of legal steps—including a 2022 order by adjudicator Elizabeth Barker to disclose the documents for review and a 2024 dismissal of the church’s appeal by the BC Court of Appeal— the case reached Canada’s highest court. Advocates for the elders argue that the Personal Information Protection Act’s provisions do not adequately safeguard religious groups, while the former members’ counsel stresses the necessity of independent oversight to verify claims of confidentiality. Justices are expected to issue a ruling within six months, which could reshape the balance between privacy law and religious freedom in Canada.
Why it matters
The ruling could define how privacy statutes apply to religious groups and the extent of Charter-protected religious freedom.
In this story
