A recent JW.org article marks the 75th anniversary of Boucher v. The King, a 1950 Supreme Court of Canada decision that became a major turning point for religious freedom and freedom of speech.
It explains that in the 1940s, Jehovah’s Witnesses faced strong opposition in Québec, and in 1946 Aimé Boucher and his daughters were arrested for distributing a tract criticizing religious persecution and state mistreatment.
Boucher was convicted of seditious libel, but the Supreme Court later ruled the tract was not seditious, overturned his conviction, and fully acquitted him—leading to charges being dropped against more than 100 others. The article emphasizes that the case remains significant today as a lasting protection of constitutional rights for all Canadians.
Regarding the historic ruling, Eugene Meehan, K.C., partner at Supreme Advocacy LLP describes this case as being a “significant milestone for freedom of speech . . . and fundamentally significant to all Canadians”. Read the full article here