The Queen v. Church of Scientology of Toronto was a 1992 Canadian criminal case involving the Church of Scientology

Church of Scientology

The Church of Scientology is an organization devoted to the practice and the promotion of the Scientology belief system. The Church of Scientology International is the Church of Scientology's parent organization, and is responsible for the overall ecclesiastical management, dissemination and...

 and members of the organization. It also involved previously untested sections of Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada. It forms the first part of the Constitution Act, 1982...

.

Preceding

An investigation into the Church of Scientology's activities in Ontario was begun when stolen documents from public and private agencies as well as information on other covert activities in Canada turned up as part of the evidence collected in the Operation Snow White

Operation Snow White

Operation Snow White was the Church of Scientology's name for a conspiracy during the 1970s to purge unfavorable records about Scientology and its founder L. Ron Hubbard...

 case in the U.S.

On March 3–4, 1983, police raided the Scientology headquarters in Toronto and seized an estimated 250,000 documents in more than 900 boxes.

Trial

The trial began on April 23, 1991.

It was during this case that the events that sparked the case of Hill v. Church of Scientology of Toronto

Hill v. Church of Scientology of Toronto

Hill v. Church of Scientology of Toronto [1995] 2 S.C.R. 1130 was a libel case against the Church of Scientology, in which the Supreme Court of Canada interpreted Ontario's libel law in relation to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms....

occurred.

Results

On June 25, 1992, seven members were convicted for operations against the Ontario Provincial Police

Ontario Provincial Police

The Ontario Provincial Police is the Provincial Police service for the province of Ontario, Canada.-Overview:The OPP is the the largest deployed police force in Ontario, and the second largest in Canada. The service is responsible for providing policing services throughout the province in areas...

, the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General

Attorney General of Ontario

The Attorney General of Ontario is a senior member of the Executive Council of Ontario and governs the Ministry of the Attorney General of Ontario - the department responsible for the oversight of the justice system within the province. The Attorney General is an elected Member of Provincial...

 and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Royal Canadian Mounted Police

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...

 (RCMP). The Church of Scientology itself was convicted on two counts of breach of the public trust: infiltration of the offices of the Ontario Provincial Police and the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General. The Church of Scientology was ordered to pay a $250,000 fine. The Church of Scientology became the only Canadian religious organization to be convicted for breaching the public trust (the term 'religious organization' being used loosely; the Church of Scientology is not officially recognised by the Canadian Government as a religion).

Appeal

The case was appealed in 1996 before the Court of Appeal for Ontario by the Church of Scientology and one of the individual defendants, Jacqueline Matz. The appellants advanced numerous grounds of appeal, some of which were abandoned at the hearing, and the remainder of which were rejected by the Court.

External links

• Timeline of the history of the original court case