Clergy Training Program
Baseline Training
Law and the Church
Marc Meadows
1. Municipal Law regarding the clergy
Not Online. Emailed the Halifax Regional Municipality on June 2nd 2016, and was informed that the city of Halifax follows the provincial and national laws concerning the function of clergy.
2. There is no body of law between the Municipality and the Province.
3. Provincial Laws and regulations that concern the Clergy.
In Nova Scotia, the main document that governs the clergy is the Solemnization of Marriage Act. (Nova Scotia Legislature, Solemnization of Marriage Act) In this act there are regulations regarding who may legally perform the rites of marriage, the registrations of Clerics / Clergy, removal of clerics / clergy from the registry, penalties for improper conduct with regard to the solemnization act and requirements of each religious body to regularly submit updated listings of those it has registered as clerics authorized to solemnize marriages in Nova Scotia. These are laid out in chapters:
(R.S., c. 436, s. 5; 1996, c. 23, s. 43) Paragraph 5 – Registration of Clerics
This section describes the method of registering clergy in Nova Scotia.
(R.S., c. 436, s. 6; 1996, c. 23, s. 43) Paragraph 6 – Conditions of Registration
This deals with the minimum requirements to be registered.
(R.S., c. 436, s. 7; 1996, c. 23, s. 43) Paragraph 7 – Cancellation of Registration
If a clergy member ceases to meet the conditions of section 6, the registration will be cancelled.
(R.S., C. 436, S.23;1996, c. 23, s. 42) Paragraph 23 – Solemnization of a marriage by a judge or justice
In section 4 of this paragraph it refers to persons wishing a religious ceremony, having already had the marriage solemnized by the judge or justice.
(R.S., c. 436, s. 24; 1996, c. 23, s. 43) Paragraph 24 – Duty of a person who solemnizes marriage.
This section focuses on how clergy or persons solemnizing a marriage are to complete the required paperwork and return it to the governmental agency that issued it.
The following sections refer to penalties faced under the law with regards to solemnizing marriage.
(R.S., c. 436, s.34) Paragraph 34 – Penalty for solemnizing under improper licence
(R.S., c.436, s. 35) Paragraph 35 – Penalty for alteration of licence after issue
(R.S., c. 436, s. 36) Paragraph 36 – Penalty for solemnizing under wrong licence
(R.S., c. 436, s.37) Paragraph 37 – Penalty for solemnization by unauthorized person
(R.S., c. 436, s.38) Paragraph 38 – Penalty for failure to return documents to issuer
(R.S., c. 436, s. 41) Paragraph 41 – Penalty for falsifying marriage register
Via email with Registry of Joint Stocks Nova Scotia, for a Grove to be recognised as a religious body in Nova Scotia, there are eight requirements that must be fulfilled, the most notable are: (Registry of Joint Stocks Nova Scotia, Service Nova Scotia Vital Statistics)
Address of the regular place of meeting / worship and the scheduled days and hours that worship will be conducted.
A copy of the constitution and Bylaws, including provisions for ordination, appointment and dismissal of clergy
A copy of the marriage rite
Proof of establishment and recognition within Nova Scotia for at least five (5) years, or if not established in Nova Scotia for five (5) years, proof of establishment and recognition within Canada for ten (10) years; and
Names, addresses and phone numbers of clergy living in Nova Scotia to be registered to perform marriages as well as proof of their ordination and residency.
Under, Service Nova Scotia Vital Statistics – Marriage: Registration of Clergy; it is mandatory for, “Any clergyperson who wants to perform marriages which are recognised as legal in Nova Scotia.” to complete the registration form. (Nova Scotia Permits Directory, Service Nova Scotia)
(1990, c. 5, s. 24; 1996, c. 10, s. 3.) Under, the Children and Family Services Act – Chapter 5 of the Acts of 1990. (Children and Family Services Act, Nova Scotia legislature) Section 24 – Duty of professionals and officials to report. This section makes it law that clergy report any suspected occurrences of abuse of a child to an agency for investigation.
Under the Adult Protection Act, section 5(1), it states that every person that has information that an adult is in need of protection, shall report that information to the minister, or “are guilty of an offence under the Act and can be punished on summary conviction and is liable to a fine of one thousand dollars or one year in prison or both”
As clergy may at times provide services of similar nature to that of Social Workers, the Nova Scotia Social workers act, which deals with the conduct and regulation of Social Work, in Section 3 paragraph (e) , that Clergy are exempted with regard to this act. (Social Workers Act, Nova Scotia Legislature)
The Forests Act, chapter 179 of the revised Statutes, is the overreaching legal source with regards to pen fires or outdoor burning within the providence. (Forests Act, Nova Scotia Legislature)
4. National Laws and regulations that concern the Clergy.
Under the Criminal Code of Canada, the following laws affect the clergy: (Criminal Code, Government of Canada)
(R.S.C., 1985, c. C-46, s. 172) Section 176 – Obstructing or violence to or arrest of officiating clergyman. This law makes it an offence to unlawfully obstruct a member of the clergy from the performance of his duties with regards to his calling, and similarly impede said person who is on their way to or from performing those duties. It is also an offence to wilfully disturb a group of persons gathered for worship, social or benevolent purpose.
(R.S.C., c. C-46, s. 323) Section 365 – Pretending to practice witchcraft, etc.
This law makes it an offence to “fraudulently” pretend to use any type of witchcraft, or perform fortune-telling for money.
Under the Canadian Charter of Rights and freedoms the following are found: (Constitution Acts, Justice Law Website)
Part I – paragraph 2 (a), Fundamental Freedoms. “freedom of conscience and religion;”
This act guarantees the right of every citizen to be free of persecution based on religion, and to follow religion in their own way.
Part I – paragraph 15 (1), Equality rights, states; “Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability.”
While many courts argue as to the merit or limits of the “Confession” rules of confidentiality, I believe that this law would grant grounds for it to apply to any religion if it applies to one.
Under the Canada Revenue Agency (Taxes) (Canadian Revenue Agency, Government of Canada)
This law defines the ability for Clergy to claim as part of their taxes a “residence deduction”
(IT141R-Consolid Archived – Clergy residence Deduction)
5. In our municipality and province the legal system shows no favour or disfavour with regards to paganism. The laws that regulate our ability to perform sacred acts such as marriage are similar to those found with other denominations. As long as the clergy person is registered and supported by the organization that ordained them, then the same rights to perform these acts is permitted. No statute or law that could be found stated that pagans couldn’t be clergy within the boundaries of Canada.
As noted above, there are laws that address the fraudulent use of witchcraft as well as divination for profit, however none that prevent the practice of divination by either clergy or merchant. Nova Scotia law does preclude the use of outdoor fire during certain hours of the day and during peak fire season when the fire index is high, however this is for the protection of the forests and forest industry and not a restriction held against paganism or ritual.
6. After reading the laws mentioned above I find no particular law out of place or discriminatory. In order to change laws on both the provincial and national level one first needs to get support for the proposal of a Bill. A bill is a proposed law that either creates a new law or changes and existing one. If there is enough support for it a Member of the legislative Assembly (MLA) for provincial law or a member of parliament for national Law will stand in the assembly and introduce the bill. Once done, for that Bill to become law it must pass three readings in the house, a committee study and be given royal assent. Once these criteria are met it becomes a Statute (law or act).
7. The Laws of both my Municipality and the Province to my understanding are in service to all who wish to perform the function of Clergy regardless of their denominations. It allows those that become registered (through the laws mentioned above) to function with the full protection of the legal system, while not specifically promoting or restricting the methods, beliefs of the individual or group. Within my own grove and the ADF, I believe having a registered “Legal” clergy member adds both function such as hand-fastings, naming rites and such, but also gives certain credibility to the group. Many people see a spiritual path or belief system credible only when there are trained personnel with legal backing of their communities. Having those members be founded in the customs and traditions of the ADF increases the reputation of the ADF expands the organization into new areas, and creates awareness.
8. Pastoral Counselling is a branch of counselling that utilizes modern psychological though and training in an attempt to deal with both normal counselling issue as well as spiritual issues. It is conducted by religious figures such as priests or ministers. The difference between this and other streams of counselling is that the counselor “… offers a relationship to that understanding of life and faith.” (Pastoral counseling, Wikipedia) In Nova Scotia, Bill No. 201 – Counselling Therapists Act, covers the rules and regulations for the practice of counseling within Nova Scotia. However, clergy and pastoral counselling are not mentioned within the document. (Bill NO. 201, Nova Scotia legislature)
9. The Mandatory reporting laws that affect me as a clergy person in my area are related to Child Abuse. In that regard the law states that: (Children and Family Services Act, Nova Scotia legislature)
“Notwithstanding any other act, every person who performs professional or official duties with respect to a child, including ....... members of the clergy... who in the course of that person's professional or official duties, has reasonable grounds to suspect that a child is or may be suffering or may have suffered abuse shall forthwith report the suspicion and the information upon which it is based to an agency.
If such an instance is believed to have occurred, a report is made by phone or in person (preferred) to the local Child welfare or Child Services office. In that exchange all details of what was observed will be reported. This report will be screened through the agency, and the correct action decided on a case by case basis. Failure to report an issue of Child Abuse is punishable by not more than 2000.00, imprisonment up to 6 months or both.
Optional Questions.
1. Military access to Clergy.
In the Canadian Military Clergy are subject to four main articles for conduct. They are the Military Code of Service Discipline, The Queen’s Regulations and Orders, Canadian Forces Chaplain branch manual and the Interfaith Committee on Canadian Military Chaplaincy. Personnel within the military that are not clergy are governed by the first two.
In the Queen’s regulations and Orders, Article 33.04 – Mandate to provide Chaplain Services, Paragraph two states that the Chaplain general may grant a mandate to a person not currently in the military to provide chaplain services to military personnel and their families as long as that person is authorized to practice professional ministry by that faith group or is a recognised spiritual leader by that faith group in accordance with its practices.
In general, in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) there are no regulations regarding access to outside (off base) worship. Members of the CAF are free to seek, attend or utilize services and spiritual worship within their communities. The only regulation that would come into play is, the Canadian Secrets Act, which outlines the CAF members need to be aware of safeguarding sensitive information. Within my time in the forces, I have conversed and operated with several members of the clergy both military and civilian including answering questions posed by military Christian Priests on how best to serve their Druid members.
2. Prison Ministry:
Via telecon, (Mr. John Scoville, Correctional Services) to service the religious needs of prisoners, clergy in Nova Scotia must apply to either the prison facilities’ full time chaplain (for the larger facilities), or to the Deputy Superintendent of the facility (for smaller facilities)
The regulations that apply to Prison Ministry are:
Under the Corrections and Conditional Release Act
(S.C. 1992, c. 20, s. 75) This statute states, that prisoners are entitled to participate and express religion, if it does not contravene any regulations of incarceration.
(SOR/92-620, s. 101) This section of the statute states, that as long as materials are not deemed to be “contraband” and “are reasonably required”, the service (facility) shall endeavor to provide them, such as facilities to express their spirituality, access to interfaith chaplaincy, special diets if necessary and items requited of the spiritual rite itself.
As mentioned in other sections of this essay, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, section 2 (Fundamental freedoms) and section 15 (Equality rights) would also apply in conjunction with the statutes of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act.
References Cited:
"ARCHIVED - Clergy Residence Deduction." Government of Canada, Canada Revenue Agency. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2016. http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pub/tp/it141r-consolid/it141r-consolid-e.html.
"Chaplaincy Services." Government of Canada, Correctional Service of Canada, Communications and Citizen Engagement Sector, Multimedia Services, Director. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2016. <http://www.csc-scc.gc.ca/politiques-et-lois/750-cd-eng.shtml>.
"Children and Family Services Act." Children and Family Services Act. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2016. <http://nslegislature.ca/legc/statutes/childfam.htm>.
"Constitution Acts, 1867 to 1982." Legislative Services Branch. N.p., 07 Oct. 2016. Web. 20 Oct. 2016. <http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/Const/page-15.html>.
"Criminal Code (R.S.C., 1985, C. C-46)." Legislative Services Branch. N.p., 07 Oct. 2016. Web. 20 Oct. 2016. <http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-46/section-176.html>.
D'Entremont, Chris A. "BILL NO. 201." Counselling Therapists Act. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Oct. 2016. <http://nslegislature.ca/legc/bills/60th_2nd/1st_read/b201.htm>.
"Duty to Report Abuse - Victims of Violence." Victims of Violence. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Oct. 2016. <http://www.victimsofviolence.on.ca/research-library/duty-to-report-abuse/#nova-scotia-2>.
"Forest Fire Protection Regulations - Forests Act (Nova Scotia)." Forest Fire Protection Regulations - Forests Act (Nova Scotia). N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2016. <http://www.novascotia.ca/just/regulations/regs/fofire.htm>.
"Forests Act." Forests Act. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2016. <http://nslegislature.ca/legc/statutes/forests.htm>.
"How A Bill Becomes Law / Bills, Statutes, Regulations / Proceedings / The Nova Scotia Legislature." How A Bill Becomes Law / Bills, Statutes, Regulations / Proceedings / The Nova Scotia Legislature. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Oct. 2016. <http://nslegislature.ca/index.php/proceedings/how-a-bill-becomes-law/>.
Nova Scotia Legislature. "Solemnization of Marriage Act." Solemnization of Marriage Act (1989): n. pag. Http://nslegislature.ca. Web.
"Pastoral Counseling." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 21 Oct. 2016. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pastoral_counseling>.
Scotia, Government of Nova. "Nova Scotia Permits Directory - Vital Statistics - Marriage, Registration of Clergy." Nova Scotia Permits Directory - Vital Statistics - Marriage, Registration of Clergy. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2016. <http://www.novascotia.ca/sns/paal/vstat/paal310.asp>.
Social Workers Act: Chapter 389. Victoria: Queen's Printer for British Columbia, 1995. Web. <http://nslegislature.ca/legc/statutes/social%20workers.pdf>.