It would appear that Leo fought the Cdn draft on the grounds of being a minister, which he was denied.
Did he go to prison?
http://www.canlii.org/en/ca/scc/doc/1946/1946canlii2/1946canlii2.pdf
Is that where he picked up his, ummmm, sexual identity?
Leo Greenless - was he jailed?
by berrygerry 6 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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blondie
I understood that people are born homosexual not made homosexual. Are you suggesting that every man that was raped by a man became a homosexual?
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berrygerry
How about "discovered?"
(I have no idea of whether or not one genuinely becomes gay or not - I think some are definitely genetically wired that way - I do think that others experiment sexually.)
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blondie
Wasn't Greenlees a pedophile. Pedophiles (known ones) are at the end of pecking order and sometimes are more likely to die in prison.
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berrygerry
The SCC was 1946 - the original decision from 1944. By 1946, the war was well over, so did the original decision become moot?
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berrygerry
79 Yearbook
Undaunted, Jehovah’s people got ready to try again. The government wanted to conscript Leo K. Greenlees of the Toronto branch office staff (now of the Governing Body), who had been a full-time minister since 1931. Instead of waiting for the authorities to prosecute, an action for declaratory judgment was instituted entitled Greenlees v. Attorney-General for Canada. The suit demanded a declaration that Leo Greenlees was a minister not subject to the draft. This was a bold move that left the opposition astonished. The war was still on and anything touching the military was considered almost sacrosanct. Yet, here was an organization that had just come out from under ban. Instead of quietly shrinking away, it was making an unabashed demand for justice and fair treatment. Jehovah’s Witnesses were back on the scene and everybody knew it!
The Greenlees case was given a full hearing by Mr. Justice Hogg of the Supreme Court of Ontario. Evidence was given by L. K. Greenlees, Percy Chapman and Hayden C. Covington. In spite of the strong evidence, the trial judge dismissed the action on weak and specious reasoning. Appeal was taken to the Ontario Court of Appeal, which also gave an evasive decision, essentially refusing to deal with the true legal issue. Next, application was made for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada. But it refused to hear the appeal on the technical ground that there was no financial claim involved in the case.
The only remaining remedy was an appeal to the Privy Council in London, England. A motion for appeal was filed in London for hearing during October 1946. Just before the time for argument, however, the government repealed the conscription law. There was no law left to argue about; so the case terminated without a final decision. At least Brother Greenlees had been protected.
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berrygerry
At least Brother Greenlees had been protected.
(Sorry to bump my own post)
And protected, and protected ...