inside the man

Monday, September 12, 2005

Ontario's Premier pledges to eliminate religious arbitration in the province

Following up on my previous post regarding Sharia tribunals in Ontario, a Globe and Mail article quotes Premier Dalton McGuinty as follows,

'Mr. McGuinty told The Canadian Press yesterday that "I've come to the conclusion that the debate has gone on long enough. There will be no sharia law in Ontario." "There will be no religious arbitration in Ontario," he said. "There will be one law for all Ontarians. Legislation will be introduced "as soon as possible," he said.'

This is another classic collision between cultural pluralism and liberal democracy - McGuinty's comments threaten to reverse the 1991 Arbitration Act which allowed for Roman Catholic and Jewish arbitration tribunals to be used voluntarily in family law disputes. Is there a solution that allows voluntary religious arbitration while still providing one law for all Ontarians?

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Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Returned to working as a Management Consultant, specializing in risk, security, and regulatory compliance, with Fujitsu Canada after running the IT shop in the largest library in the South Pacific.

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