VANCOUVER, February 11 – The Diocese of New Westminster today asked the Supreme Court of Canada to bring an end to a lawsuit brought by the Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC) that has dragged on since September of 2008.
In a Brief filed with the Court today, it is asking that the court decline to hear the Appeal initiated by ANiC so the Anglican Church in the Vancouver area can stop spending money on lawyers and devote more resources to ministry for its people and those in need.
After leaving the diocese almost three years ago, dissident trustees and clergy of four parishes (22 people) initiated legal action against the diocese for control of the assets of the four parishes. After a trial in June, 2009, before Judge Stephen Kelleher, the BC Supreme Court ruled in September 2009 against the Dissidents, finding that the Churches were set aside for ministry within the Anglican Church of Canada and could not be used by ANiC. Last year a three judge panel of the BC Court of Appeal unanimously upheld the lower court’s decision.
If the Supreme Court of Canada refuses to hear the appeal, the BC Appeal Court’s decision stands and the Diocese can move ahead without the concern of further litigation expense. Bishop Michael Ingham, working with local parishioners and inviting their participation, can then appoint new clergy to the parishes - St. John’s Shaughnessy, St. Matthias and St. Luke, and Good Shepherd, all in Vancouver, and St. Matthew’s in Abbotsford.
Pending a decision by the Supreme Court whether it will hear the Appeal, consideration is being given to what steps will be taken by the Diocese to move forward, based on the decisions of the trial court and the court of appeal which have affirmed that the churches are to be used for worship within the Anglican Church of Canada and under the direction and jurisdiction of the Bishop. Initially that will be done through counsel and if needed, counsel for both parties involved will need to appear before the trial court and seek the court’s direction if agreement on use of the buildings cannot be reached.
The diocese today in its 20-page Brief argues that the case turns upon unique facts relating to how the Anglican Church of Canada and the Diocese are set up. “It is not a case that will determine broader issues for religious organizations,” the diocese insisted. The dissident group on January 13 in its brief for the court insisted that important questions of law are at stake.
Normally an application asking that the court review a case goes to a panel of the Supreme Court in Ottawa. If the panel agrees that the case is one of national importance and should be heard, the whole court of nine judges then hears the case. Whether ANiC is granted leave to appeal will not be known for at least three or four months.
The bishop has said that it has always been the diocese’s policy never to ask priests or parishioners to participate in same sex blessings – an issue that contributed to this dispute. “No one is required to act against their conscience,” he said.
He said he hoped both sides could avoid the substantial legal costs an appeal to Ottawa would take, and spend the money on the Diocese’s mission work across the Lower Mainland. “I have asked only that we respect one another and get on with the work of mission.”
Click the link to download a pdf of this PRESS RELEASE
In a Brief filed with the Court today, it is asking that the court decline to hear the Appeal initiated by ANiC so the Anglican Church in the Vancouver area can stop spending money on lawyers and devote more resources to ministry for its people and those in need.
After leaving the diocese almost three years ago, dissident trustees and clergy of four parishes (22 people) initiated legal action against the diocese for control of the assets of the four parishes. After a trial in June, 2009, before Judge Stephen Kelleher, the BC Supreme Court ruled in September 2009 against the Dissidents, finding that the Churches were set aside for ministry within the Anglican Church of Canada and could not be used by ANiC. Last year a three judge panel of the BC Court of Appeal unanimously upheld the lower court’s decision.
If the Supreme Court of Canada refuses to hear the appeal, the BC Appeal Court’s decision stands and the Diocese can move ahead without the concern of further litigation expense. Bishop Michael Ingham, working with local parishioners and inviting their participation, can then appoint new clergy to the parishes - St. John’s Shaughnessy, St. Matthias and St. Luke, and Good Shepherd, all in Vancouver, and St. Matthew’s in Abbotsford.
Pending a decision by the Supreme Court whether it will hear the Appeal, consideration is being given to what steps will be taken by the Diocese to move forward, based on the decisions of the trial court and the court of appeal which have affirmed that the churches are to be used for worship within the Anglican Church of Canada and under the direction and jurisdiction of the Bishop. Initially that will be done through counsel and if needed, counsel for both parties involved will need to appear before the trial court and seek the court’s direction if agreement on use of the buildings cannot be reached.
The diocese today in its 20-page Brief argues that the case turns upon unique facts relating to how the Anglican Church of Canada and the Diocese are set up. “It is not a case that will determine broader issues for religious organizations,” the diocese insisted. The dissident group on January 13 in its brief for the court insisted that important questions of law are at stake.
Normally an application asking that the court review a case goes to a panel of the Supreme Court in Ottawa. If the panel agrees that the case is one of national importance and should be heard, the whole court of nine judges then hears the case. Whether ANiC is granted leave to appeal will not be known for at least three or four months.
The bishop has said that it has always been the diocese’s policy never to ask priests or parishioners to participate in same sex blessings – an issue that contributed to this dispute. “No one is required to act against their conscience,” he said.
He said he hoped both sides could avoid the substantial legal costs an appeal to Ottawa would take, and spend the money on the Diocese’s mission work across the Lower Mainland. “I have asked only that we respect one another and get on with the work of mission.”
Click the link to download a pdf of this PRESS RELEASE