Ex-councillor raises a ruckus over royal rules

By BRETT CLARKSON, TORONTO SUN

Did you know that Canada's official head of state -- the British monarch -- is barred from being Roman Catholic?

Tony O'Donohue knows it -- and wants the "outdated" rule changed to reflect 21st-century Canada, where it's estimated that upwards of 40% of the population is Catholic. So O'Donohue, a former Toronto councillor, mounted a court challenge against the Crown in an attempt to sever Canada's ties to a 301-year old British statute.

"The Act of Settlement has no place in Canadian life," O'Donohue said.

Specifically, the 1701 British Act of Settlement forbids any non-protestant from ascending to the throne.

O'Donohue ultimately wants the government to both declare the act unconstitutional and lobby the UK for its reform.

"Catholics are singled out in this -- it singles out non-Protestants," O'Donohue said. "I'm quite embarrassed we have such a piece of debris in our constitution."

OUTLINES STRICT RULES

Because of the strict rules it outlines for the monarchy, the act has also raised controversy in Britain. The Guardian newspaper campaigned to have the act reformed, pointing out that it could be construed to discriminate against Muslims, Jews, or any other non-Protestant faith. In 1999, the Scottish Parliament unanimously backed a motion to abolish the act.

The act, explained O'Donohue's lawyer James Morton, is implied in the Canadian Constitution because the feds look to it for its laying out of terms for the monarchy.

An Ontario Superior Court will begin hearing O'Donohue's arguments today before deciding whether to proceed with a full hearing into the matter.

The Canadian government is contending that a hearing should not proceed, Morton said.

The case "could change Canadian history" because of its minute potential to have the Crown declared unconstitutional, said Tom Freda of the group Citizens for a Canadian Republic, who are supporting O'Donohue's case.

Freda contends that the three-century-old act contravenes Canadian law. Section 15(1) of The Charter of Rights and Freedoms expressly forbids discrimination on the basis of "race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability".

"Why should our head of state be exempt from our Charter of Rights and Freedoms?" Freda asked.