Couple to debate right to distribute atheist book

August 28, 2012
By TOM GODFREY, QMI Agency

TORONTO - A Grimsby, Ont., couple who want to have a book on atheism distributed to students attending the District School Board of Niagara will have the chance to make their case before an Ontario Human Rights Tribunal.

Rene and Anna Chouinard, who have three children, have been fighting with the board for more than two years to have an age-appropriate publication -- Just Pretend: A Free Thought Book for Children and Losing Faith in Faith: From Preacher to Atheist -- distributed to Grade 5 students.

The couple, who are humanists and follow a religion-free way of life, took their case to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario on Aug. 20 and were granted a hearing on the issue. While no date has yet been set for the proceeding, the tribunal allowed the Ontario Human Rights Commission and Canadian Civil Liberties Association to act as interveners in two-days of hearings.

The fight began after the Chouinards’ refused to sign a consent form for their daughter to distribute Gideon International Bibles at her school.

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2012/08/28/20150556.html