Sharia tribunals for Ontario

The announcement (here and here) that the Province of Ontario is considering a recommendation to introduce Sharia tribunals to resolve disputes such as divorce within Muslim families is alarming women's rights groups and dissident groups from hard-line Muslim countries. The Sharia tribunals, if instituted, would operate in a regulated environment along side the provinces existing Roman Catholic and Jewish tribunals. A Toronto Star editorial carries the following quote,

"The Muslim women who are leading today's protests have nothing to fear themselves because they would never agree to submit disputes to a religious tribunal. Still, they are demonstrating on behalf of other Muslim women who may not understand their rights under our laws. They argue such women may be coerced by their families and communities into agreeing to a process that may treat them unfairly."