A Vancouver Island mother sued her children’s school district for holding an indigenous ceremony that she said was of a spiritual nature, allegedly violating her children’s right to religious freedom. After years of litigation, B.C.’s highest court dismissed her appeal on Dec. 12.
Candice Servatius of Port Alberni had enlisted the help of the Alberta-based Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms. The court ruled that because this group funded her lawsuit and she did not pay out of pocket herself, she must also cover the school district’s legal costs. An earlier court decision had decided to relieve Servatius of this standard duty to pay the costs of the winning side because she was of limited means.
