SUPREME COURT OF CANADA CITATION: Alberta v. Hutterian ...

eliefs.In short, the Attorney General does not take issue with the proposition that theburden imposed upon the Applicants by Section 14(1)(b) of AR 137/2003 is a breachof the Charter Rights of the Applicants under both Section 2(a) and Section 15(1) of theCharter. Accordingly, there is no need to engage in an assessment of whether Section14(1)(b) of AR 320/2002, as amended, violates the guaranteed Charter rights of theApplicants. [paras. 6-7][126] The constitutional guarantee of freedom of conscience and religion is found in s. 2(a)of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which states:2. Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms:(a) freedom of conscience and religion;[127] In both Big M and R. v. Edwards Books and Art Ltd., [1986] 2 S.C.R. 713, Dickson C.J.explained the significance of the right, one that rests on the values of autonomy and dignity. InEdwards Books, he characterized freedom of religion as “profoundly personal beliefs that governone’s perception of oneself, humankind, nature and, in some cases, a higher or different order ofbeing. These beliefs, in turn, govern one’s conduct and practices” (p. 759). In Big M, he wrote that[t]he essence of the concept of freedom of religion is the right to entertain such religiousbeliefs as a person chooses, the right to declare religious beliefs openly and without fearof hindrance or reprisal, and the right to manifest religious belief by worship andpractice or by teaching and dissemination.. . .[A]n emphasis on individual conscience and individual judgment . . . lies at the heart ofour democratic political tradition. [p. 346]It is the centrality of the rights associated with freedom of individual conscience that