Hutterites Lose Last Ditch Supreme Court Effort
Alberta Religious Sect Must Provide Photo for Driver's Licence
Oct 20, 2009
Hutterites, along with Mennonites and the Amish are Anabaptists. Anabaptists (or re-baptists) are Christian sects that believe only adults and not children should be baptized.
Hutterite Beliefs
The Anabaptist movement began in Europe during the 16th century and its members were often persecuted for their beliefs. Hutterites, named after an early leader, Jakob Hutter who was burned at the stake for his religious beliefs in 1535, believe in living communally. Other than small personal items, the Hutterites own no personal property. They are essentially farming communities although in recent times they have engaged in manufacturing in order to survive. Hutterites shy away from the outside world and shun technology even though in recent years they have, out of necessity, had to rely on such things as the Internet and cell phones in order to conduct their businesses. Hutterites are also pacifists who not only refuse military service but sometimes refuse to pay taxes if those taxes are to be used to wage war.
Persecution of the Hutterites Led Them to Canada
The Hutterites moved from Europe to Russia to avoid the persecution that occurred mainly from their refusal to serve in the military. In 1874, when Russia rescinded their military exemptions, the Hutterites moved to South Dakota. They again suffered persecution after World War I broke out and Hutterite men refused to serve in the U.S. military. In 1917, the group moved from South Dakota to Western Canada and settled in parts of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. Canada had agreed to exempt the sect from military service.
The Ten Commandments are a major part of Hutterite beliefs. Some, but not all, believe that as God made man in His image, photographs of people constitute graven images and intentionally having one’s picture taken violates the Second Commandment that forbids such images.
In 1974, Alberta brought in the requirement that photographs appear on provincial drivers’ licences. Notwithstanding this requirement, Hutterites who had religious objections to having their photographs taken were granted special licences that were valid without a photo appearing either on the licence or in the provincial database.
Alberta Abolishes Exemptions from Photo ID Requirement
All of this changed in 2003 when Alberta brought in a new regulation making the photos mandatory on licences, no exceptions. Members of the Wilson Colony negotiated with the government of Alberta to remain exempt from the requirement and when that failed, the colony went to court. The colony challenged the requirement for mandatory photographs on the grounds that it infringed their freedom of religion under section 2 of Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Lower Courts Side with the Hutterites
Both the lower court and the Alberta Court of Appeal agreed with the Hutterities. Those courts found that the group’s religious freedom was breached and that the breach was not justified in a free and democratic society. The Alberta government then appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada.
Supreme Court of Canada Overrules Lower Courts; Photos Required
On July 27, 2009, the Supreme Court released a 4-3 judgment that allowed the government’s appeal. The majority of the court found that although the freedom of religion of the Hutterites had been violated, that violation by the government was justified. Four justices found that the province of Alberta had the right to pass regulations, not only to govern highway safety but to maintain the integrity of the licensing system. The province had the right to require photographs in an effort to prevent identity theft and there was no other means to achieve that objective other than to require photographs of drivers both on their licences and in the province’s database.
The three Supreme Court justices who would have allowed the exemption for Hutterites also found that that their religious freedom had been breached. But the minority of the court concluded that the government of Alberta had not proved that the violation of the religious rights of the Hutterite colony was justified. In her reasons, Justice Abella pointed out that there were 700,000 Albertans who did not have a driver’s licence and therefore did not have their pictures in a provincial database. As well, the number of Hutterites that had been issued licences with the photo exemption amounted to no more than 250. The dissenting justices found that the province did not provide any evidence as to how the few Hutterites who had been driving with photo-exempt licences for the past 29 years had adversely affected Alberta’s objective to combat the crime of identity theft.
After the decision was handed down, the Wilson Colony applied to the Supreme Court of Canada to reconsider its decision. On October 15, 2009, the Court refused that request, without reasons. The province is hoping that the matter is now settled.
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