The Supreme Court of Canada is seen, Friday, June 16, 2023 in Ottawa. The court says it won't hear an appeal from Webber Academy in Calgary. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
CALGARY – A long-running legal battle is over for a Calgary private school that had been trying to overturn a tribunal’s finding that it discriminated against two Muslim students barred from praying on campus.
The Supreme Court of Canada says it won’t hear the latest appeal from the non-denominational Webber Academy.
School president Neil Webber says he’s disappointed but not surprised, and there’s no other way forward.
He says the school will pay the original $26,000 fine imposed by the Alberta Human Rights Commission and will deal with any future prayer service requests from parents.
The dispute dates back to February 2012, when the parents of two students who were denied a space to pray at the school filed complaints with the commission.
The students’ religious beliefs required them to pray five times a day, including once or twice during school hours.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 21, 2024.
