by Rado Vleugel 26 Replies latest jw friends
The Canadian City of Blainville believes it has the right to restrict how people express their religion in public in order to protect people's rights to privacy in their own homes.
Jehovah's Witnesses pay $100 for an annual permit for door-to-door visits of a non-commercial nature Permit holders can canvass for only two months each year.
Read the whole article on http://www.watchtowerinformationservice.org
Greetings,
Rado Vleugel
I think this is a great idea. They are certain laws and then there are also general policies for telemarketers to protect people's rights to privacy in there own home so I don't see why door to door canvassing should be any different.
Who will they ban next? Why should the government tell us who and who should not come to our door? Though I am the last person on earth who wants a Dub knocking at my door, I feel this is a wrong path to head down.......
Oh, I bet they are bitching about being persecuted now!
The article concludes:
"To put it in simple English, you can not license freedom of expression," said lawyer Glen How, who is also a Witness. "This is a scandalous abuse."
Mr. How is renowned and revered among JWs in Canada for the cases he argued and won in Quebec during the 1950s, when Premier Duplessis had banned the JWs. I'm not surprised at his speaking to this current issue.
A national Do-Not-Call registry would be a much better way of addressing this problem, since it would encompass telemarketers, door-to-door salespeople, and so on, without specifically targeting the JWs.
You would think that the JWs would be grateful to know who doesn't want them visiting. It would make their preaching work so much more efficient.
Love, Scully
Interesting. I'm also hesistant to side with Blainville on this too. I think Scully's idea would be effective. It works for unsolicted phone calls. Those who don't want jws calling could simply register. The list could include all others who might call.
As an alernative, jws have their own do-not-call lists, although adherence is spotty. Jws often call anyway, not paying attention to the list (it happened to me several times - I called on dnc's by accident, just being inattentive). Of course, jws will call periodically anyway even on dnc's, just to be sure people feel the same way, etc.
I tried the link and it kept freezing my computer so I went in a different way
Here is the article June 17, 2003 Quebec municipality tries again in court to restrict Jehovah's Witnesses MONTREAL (CP) -- A municipal bylaw restricting when Jehovah's Witnesses can go door to door protects residents' right to privacy and does not violate the group's right to religious freedom and expression, a lawyer argued Tuesday.
The City of Blainville, which believes many of its residents don't want Jehovah's Witnesses at their door on weekends and in the evening, is appealing a lower-court ruling that declared its bylaw unconstitutional. Lawyer Pierre Paquin, representing the city just north of Montreal, told three Quebec Court of Appeal justices that city officials are not restricting anyone's religious freedoms by insisting people pay $100 for an annual permit for all door-to-door visits.
Permit holders can only canvass two months each year. And the soliciting must be between 9 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The city believes it has the right to restrict how people express their religion in public in order to protect people's rights to privacy in their own homes, said Paquin.
"We're not talking about a witch hunt," said Paquin.
He argued it's reasonable to believe Witnesses could canvass the city within the two-month period covered by the permit. And the fact the permit applies to all groups, including charities, shows there is no discrimination. But the three justices cautioned Paquin that it's dangerous to distinguish between people's right to religious freedom and their right to express their religious beliefs.
"If these aren't restrictions on religious freedoms, I don't know what are," said Justice Pierre Dalphond.
Dalphond also said the City of Blainville has been "paternalistic" in its treatment of residents by not allowing them the right to not answer the door, or the option of discussing their views with the Witnesses.
In April 2001, a Quebec Superior Court justice ruled that to lump the religious group in with peddlers was "insulting, degrading, hurtful and defamatory."
However, the judge refused the Jehovah's Witnesses request for $3,500 in damages for each of the 14 people fined under the bylaw since 1997.
The City of Blainville appealed the ruling, while the Witnesses are appealing the question of damages.
Lawyers representing the Witnesses argued that awarding damages sends a message to all publicly elected officials.
"To put it in simple English, you can not license freedom of expression," said lawyer Glen How, who is also a Witness.
"This is a scandalous abuse."
Another lawyer for the Witnesses, Andre Carbonneau, argued damages should be awarded because city council specifically targeted the group with its bylaw even though there had never been any complaints filed before the bylaw was passed in 1996.
Justice Rene Letarte countered that the fact the bylaw cites religious visits as an example of groups needing permits does not mean the Witnesses are being treated differently from anyone else who wants to go door to door.
Pending the outcome of the appeals, the Witnesses have continued their door-to-door visits -- without permits and on weekend afternoons.
Alain Beauchemin, a Jehovah's Witness minister named as one of the plaintiffs in the court case, said the visits are a key part of his worship to God.
"It's not just trying to look for new converts, as many have suspected, and it's certainly not money that motivates us," said Beauchemin, who attended Tuesday's court hearing.
He said most people who do open their doors are indifferent, not annoyed, while others are interested and take the time to listen to his message.
Beauchemin said he is passionate about fighting the bylaw in part because his grandmother was persecuted in the 1950s, and even spent time in jail, for trying to talk to Quebecers about her faith.
"Freedoms have always been very, very important to us, especially the freedom of speech, not just religion."
The judges gave no indication when their decision will be ready.
I was in Montreal when this story first erupted. And my mother was in the Blainville cong at the time. More detail on the story. The community had enough of people comes to the doors of people and disturbing them at various inopportune times (meal times and Sat and Sun mornings when many people sleep in) They wanted people to show some sort of ID to prove they were legit and to limit the hours. There was no singling out of JWs. The ruling was meant for any religious group that went door-to-door as well as salespeople. Blainville is a small town. My aunt and uncle who lived there lived on a gravel road with only a hand full of houses. You could rarely see the neighbor so many homes are sort of isolated. There had been cases of people posing as hydro or gas reps who would gain access to a home and then either rob or attack the person in the home. So there was a safety issue here. The JWs insisted that they should not have to identify themselves personally. They should only have to say they were JWs and not give a name. And so the war was on. A community meeting attended by many people in the community showed the community recognized the need for some issues to be dealt with but the JWs push discrimination and persecution and in came Howe and his legal dogs. I know Alain Beachemin. He was a bright young man - fairly well educated and from one of the few wealthy JW families in Montreal. He has been a spokesman for the JWs in Montreal for a few years now and plays the media well. No one is saying the JWs or anyone else can't go door-to-door. They just want them to respect reasonable time limits and provide a name. Well that was up to a few years ago before I left. It seems they have pushed this to the point where the city is demanding a lot more. If they had left it alone there wouldn't be the permits they have to get now or the more restrictive time limits This sounds like it is back-firing badly on them and the city is digging in its heels
I don't see anything wrong with monitoring the activity of religious zealots .I believe in the freedom of religion but when people are trespassing on private property it just seems proper to inform the local authorities of said parties where abouts . There are just too many weirdos in the world that are nothing but lying thieving murdering child molesting rapist freaks. I think the idea of registering with the state for a permit is an excellent idea .I don't care to hear from the mormons either .
Glen How is the same lawyer that Shunned Father wants to take to task. See items k through r in the court action at
