Freedom of religion and expression claim should be action, not petition: BC Court of Appeal

“The British Columbia Court of Appeal has ruled that a claim of infringement of freedom of religion and freedom of expression under the Charter must proceed as an action and not a petition.”

In The Redeemed Christian Church of God v. New Westminster (City), 2022 BCCA 224, the Redeemed Christian Church of God, British Columbia – also known as Grace Chapel – booked a space for a youth conference at the Anvil Theatre, which was owned and operated by the City of New Westminster, BC.

The city received an email complaint from the public that the conference would be “anti-LGBTQ,” which was based on the involvement and views of one of the conference facilitators. The next day, the city cancelled its agreement with Grace Chapel.

Despite Grace Chapel’s request for due process and emphasis that there would be “no hate, racism, or violence promoted at the conference,” the city responded with a willingness to discuss but did not change the cancellation.

Grace Chapel filed a petition under the Judicial Review Procedure Act, RSBC 1996, c 241 (JRPA) seeking a declaration that the city was unfair and infringed the freedoms of religion under 2(a) and freedom of expression under 2(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, among others, and an order quashing the city’s decision to cancel its contract.

The judge dismissed the petition, ruling that the core issues raised by Grace Chapel were contractual in nature and did not fall under JRPA. She nevertheless found that Grace Chapel’s freedom of religion and freedom of expression was unjustifiably infringed.

The city challenged these orders on appeal and the appellate court ruled that the appeal had merit.

The judge erred in concluding that Grace Chapel was authorized to commence the proceedings by way of petition in the absence of a properly brought judicial review petition – the appropriate remedy in this case was not a petition but an action, said the court.

Thus, the appellate court set aside the judge’s declaration that the city justifiably infringed Grace Chapel’s right to freedom of religion and freedom of expression, converted the church’s existing petition to an action, and gave Grace Chapel leave to file a notice of civil claim.