The BC Supreme Court decision on smudging in a Port Alberni classroom was released yesterday, dismissing charges that it interfered with students religious beliefs.
The issue dates back to September 2015, when a Nuu-chah-nulth Elder came to John Howitt Elementary School to cleanse classrooms by brushing with sage smoke and an eagle feather.
Parent Candace Servatius objected to her two children seeing the ceremony, arguing it interfered with their families Christian beliefs.
Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council president Judith Sayers testified at the week-long hearing in Nanaimo in November, and said despite the negativity of the courtroom, she received a lot of encouragement from the people of Port Alberni.
“I’m really pleased with the support Port Alberni has shown me,” she said. “I have had an amazing number of people coming up and thanking me for the work I’ve done and ask me when the decision is coming down. There has been a lot of interest within Port Alberni.”
The Calgary-based Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms represented Servatius, and lawyer Jay Cameron said his clients are disappointed in the decision, and are considering an appeal.
“Any time the state imposes a supernatural or spiritualistic ceremony on a free citizen, that is an infringement of their 2(a) rights to be free from that sort of state imposition and so on that basis, and on a number of other basis’, we’re considering an appeal,” he said.
In his 47-page judgement, Justice Douglas Thompson ruled First Nations cultural displays do not infringe on religious freedoms.
