The Supreme Court of Canada on Thursday declined to hear the appeal of a school that was found to be discriminating against its Muslim students by denying them access to prayer space.
Webber Academy, a private school in Calgary, prohibited two Muslim students from publicly praying on campus, claiming that providing prayer space violated the school’s secular policy. The two students, Sarmad Amir and Naman Siddique, enrolled at Webber Academy in 2011 and began praying at the school in accordance with their Sunni religious practices. Their prayers included bowing and kneeling, and one or two of their prayers occurred each day during school hours. When the president of the school, Neil Webber, discovered that staff had been providing the boys with prayer space, he told the students’ parents that the prayers would no longer be allowed since Webber Academy was a non-denominational school. After the parents objected, Webber said the boys could only pray on campus if they did so discreetly and without bowing or kneeling.
The parents of the two students filed complaints against the school in 2012, claiming Webber Academy discriminated against their sons. The Alberta Human Rights Commission ruled in the families’ favor, imposing a $26,000 fine against the school. The Alberta Court of Appeal refused to overturn that ruling last year, finding the school’s non-denominational policy was not affected by providing students a private area where they could pray. The justices noted that the school already allowed for displays of religious differences, such as displaying a Christmas tree every year and allowing dress code exceptions for students who wear religious head coverings. The court found that providing students access to prayer space was a comparable accommodation, stating, “[t]he students never asked that their religion be taught as part of the school’s curriculum, and Webber Academy was able to continue to offer its educational curriculum free from religious instruction and influence.”
Webber Academy’s policy is only one example of Canadian schools limiting students’ access to prayer space. In 2023, the Quebec Superior Court denied a request for an injunction against a ban on prayer rooms in schools despite noting concerns about the ban’s constitutionality. Critics have noted that policies prohibiting access to prayer space discriminate against Muslim students, whose prayer routines involve physical action that cannot be done “discreetly.”
Such policies reflect the growing trend of anti-Muslim discrimination that Canadian leaders and rights groups have been attempting to tackle in recent years. A 2023 report, for example, found that 31 percent of non-Muslim Canadians “have no interest in being an ally to Muslims.” Discrimination against Muslim Canadians has also been violent. Six men were killed at a Quebec City mosque in 2017, and a Muslim family was killed in a “political” attack in 2021.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reaffirmed the country’s commitment to standing up to Islamophobia. The prime minister noted the appointment of the first Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia, Amira Elghawaby, who is leading efforts to combat anti-Muslim discrimination across the nation. Canada will also be renewing its Anti-Racism Strategy, which includes efforts to address anti-Muslim bigotry.
