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B.C. Court orders Jehovah’s Witnesses to hand over personal information

BC Supreme Court acknowledges infringement on religious rights, say those rights are not absolute
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The BC Supreme Court ruled Monday, Jan. 8, 2024, that two Jehovah’s Witnesses congregations, including one in Coldstream, must hand over personal information records requested by their former members to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner. (File photo)

Two Jehovah’s Witnesses congregations, including one in Coldstream, will have to submit personal information records requested by their former members to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC) following a B.C. Supreme Court ruling.

The congregations had refused to share their former members’ personal information with them on the basis of protecting their religious freedoms.

In 2020, Gabriel Liberty Wall and Gregory Westgarde each requested documents from their former congregations.

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Brendan Shykora

About the Author: Brendan Shykora

I started as a carrier at the age of 8. In 2019 graduated from the Master of Journalism program at Carleton University.
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