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The Scientology movement has been present in Canada since at least the 1960s. According to the most recent available census data, there were 1,745 individuals in Canada identifying as Scientologists in 2011. [1] Scientology has encountered difficulties in obtaining status as a tax exempt organization, as has happened in other countries.
The Toronto organization's 8-storey building at 696 Yonge Street was vacated in 2012 and boarded up in 2013 for a renovation to an "Ideal Org". The plans would "remove all interior walls on all floors, remove all exterior walls ... and construct new exterior and interior alterations to all floors." In 2015, Scientology owed over $100,000 in property taxes and penalties. As of 2022, the building was still boarded up and vacant. [2] [3] [4]
In 2007, the Montreal organization purchased the historic La Patrie building in downtown Montreal's Latin Quarter with plans to renovate it as an Ideal Org, but the building remained vacant. In 2015, the organization owed $117,000 in taxes, fines and interest. They paid off enough of that bill to avoid a sale of the building, but in 2016 faced another substantial tax bill and risked having the building auctioned off. [3] [5]
In 2013, a new Ideal Org was opened in Cambridge, Ontario at 1305 Bishop St. N. [6]
In 2017, Scientology rented the building at 40 Baker Street for administrative offices. A month later, there were demonstrators out front protesting the presence of Scientology in Guelph. [7] [8]
Religious scholars David G. Bromley and Douglas Cowan, writing in a 2006 publication, state that Scientology has so far failed to gain official recognition as a religion in Canada. [9]
The Church has failed to win status as a federally registered charity for tax purposes. [10] A November 2007 article in The Varsity , a University of Toronto student newspaper, stated that the Church of Scientology is classified as a religious non-profit organization in Canada whose ministers can perform marriages, and that Scientologist public servants are allowed to take time off work for Scientologist holidays. [11] However, since marriage is governed in Canada by provincial law, it is unclear whether Scientology is actually accredited in any Canadian province to perform legal marriages.
In 1966, the provincially appointed Committee on the Healing Arts began investigating medicine and healing in Ontario. The study involved the examination of hypnosis and groups that use it, as well as several sectarian groups including Scientology. The resulting report in 1970, by John A. Lee, entitled Sectarian Healers and Hypnotherapy was dubbed The Lee Report. [12] [13]
Lee's work included an examination of groups which purported to heal mainly through the use of suggestion. Though Scientologists disclaim any interest in healing physical or mental disorders, they also claim that 70% of human illness is psychosomatic and can be cured by Scientology. [14]
From 1967 through 1968, the committee was unable to get cooperation from the Church of Scientology. The Church refused to return the committee's questionnaire, while complaining of the nature of Lee's investigation. They simply responded that "Scientology bore no relation to the healing arts" and that their religious technology should not be subject to inspection. [12] [14]
The committee issued subpoenas to which the Church partially complied. The Church then let loose "a volley of highly offensive press releases" in 1968 attacking members of the committee, accusing them of crimes, impugning their motives, and accusing the committee of conducting an Inquisition. In the end, the committee concluded that scientologists do purport to heal and that "Scientology should not be excluded from the proscriptions of the practice of medicine under the Medical Act on the grounds of being a religion." [12] [14]
"Operation Snow White" was the Church of Scientology's name for a project during the 1970s to purge unfavorable records, mainly in the US, about Scientology and its founder L. Ron Hubbard.
As a result of documents stolen from public and private agencies in Canada and information on other covert activities found as evidence collected in the Operation Snow White case, [15] [16] investigations into the Church of Scientology in Ontario were started. This eventually resulted in a large police raid of the Church of Scientology in Toronto, 3 March to 4 March 1983. The R. v. Church of Scientology of Toronto case began 23 April 1991, [17] resulting in seven members being convicted of operations against organisations including the Ontario Provincial Police, the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), and two convictions of criminal Breach of the Public Trust against the church itself, for infiltration of the offices of the Ontario Provincial Police and the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General. The Church of Scientology was ordered to pay a $250,000 fine. [18] [19] [20]
On 17 September 1984, Morris Manning, a lawyer working for the Church, and representatives of the Church of Scientology held a press conference on the courthouse steps in Toronto. Manning read from and commented upon allegations in a notice of motion by Scientology, intending to commence criminal contempt proceedings against a Crown Attorney, Casey Hill. The motion alleged that Hill had misled a judge and had breached orders sealing certain documents belonging to Scientology in R. v. Church of Scientology of Toronto.
At the contempt proceeding where the appellants were seeking a fine or imprisonment against the defendant, the allegations against Hill were found to be untrue and without foundation. Hill launched a lawsuit for libel damages against the appellants. Both Manning and the Church were found jointly liable for general damages of C$300,000 and Scientology alone was found liable for aggravated damages of C$500,000 and punitive damages of C$800,000. The judgement was affirmed in a 1994 decision by the Court of Appeal for Ontario, [21] and again at the Supreme Court of Canada in 1995. [22]
A professional lawyers' newspaper concluded that the C$1.6M amount was likely the third-to-fourth highest libel award affirmed by an appellate court in North America at the time. The initial jury found that Scientology was motivated by express malice and its actions were calculated to aggravate the injury to Hill. The court of appeal wrote that the libel was serious, was published in circumstances designed to cause the most serious damage to Hill's reputation and to ensure the widest circulation possible. [12]
The Church of Scientology has been involved in numerous court disputes across the world. In some cases, when the Church has initiated the dispute, questions have been raised as to its motives. The Church of Scientology says that its use of the legal system is necessary to protect its intellectual property and its right to freedom of religion. Critics say that most of the organization's legal claims are designed to harass those who criticize it and its manipulative business practices.
Hill v Church of Scientology of Toronto February 20, 1995 – July 20, 1995. 2 S.C.R. 1130 was a libel case against the Church of Scientology, in which the Supreme Court of Canada interpreted Ontario's libel law in relation to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Since its inception in 1954, the Church of Scientology has been involved in a number of controversies, including its stance on psychiatry, Scientology's legitimacy as a religion, the Church's aggressive attitude in dealing with its perceived enemies and critics, allegations of mistreatment of members, and predatory financial practices; for example, the high cost of religious training:191 and perceived exploitative practices. When mainstream media outlets have reported alleged abuses, representatives of the church have tended to deny such allegations.
The Fishman Affidavit is a set of court documents submitted by self-professed ex-Scientologist Steven Fishman in 1993 in the federal case, Church of Scientology International v. Fishman and Geertz (Case No. CV 91-6426.
The Queen v. Church of Scientology of Toronto was a 1992 Canadian criminal case involving the Church of Scientology and members of the organization, resulting in a conviction on two counts of breach of the public trust. It also involved previously untested sections of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
David Miscavige is an American Scientologist who is serving as the second and current leader of the Church of Scientology. His official title within the organization is Chairman of the Board of the Religious Technology Center. RTC is a corporation that controls the trademarks and copyrights of Dianetics and Scientology. He is also referred to within the Scientology organization as "DM," "COB" and "Captain of the Sea Org."
The term fair game is used to describe policies and practices carried out by the Church of Scientology towards people and groups it perceives as its enemies. Founder of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard, established the policy in the 1950s, in response to criticism both from within and outside his organization. Individuals or groups who are "fair game" are judged to be a threat to the Church and, according to the policy, can be punished and harassed using any and all means possible. In 1968, Hubbard officially canceled use of the term "fair game" because of negative public relations it caused, although the Church's aggressive response to criticism continued.
The Anderson Report is the colloquial name of the report of the Board of Inquiry into Scientology, an official inquiry into the Church of Scientology conducted for the State of Victoria, Australia. It was written by Kevin Victor Anderson QC and published in 1965. The report led to legislation attempting to ban Scientology in Victoria and similar legislation in several other States of Australia. No convictions were made under the legislation and Scientologists continued to practice their beliefs, although the headquarters was moved to South Australia. The legislation has been repealed in all States and subsequently Scientology was found to be a religion by the High Court of Australia.
The Dumbleton–Powles Report is a report on Scientology prepared for the government of New Zealand by E.V. Dumbleton and Sir Guy Richardson Powles, and published on 30 June 1969.
The Church of Scientology is a group of interconnected corporate entities and other organizations devoted to the practice, administration and dissemination of Scientology, which is variously defined as a cult, a business, or a new religious movement. The movement has been the subject of a number of controversies, and the Church of Scientology has been described by government inquiries, international parliamentary bodies, scholars, law lords, and numerous superior court judgements as both a dangerous cult and a manipulative profit-making business.
The Church of Spiritual Technology (CST) is a California 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, incorporated in 1982, which owns all the copyrights of the estate of L. Ron Hubbard and licenses their use. CST does business as L. Ron Hubbard Library. The Church of Spiritual Technology points to Hubbard as the “focal point,” with the structure designed to realize what Scientologists understand to be his vision. The stated purpose of the archive in CST, according to the church is “so that future generations will have available to them all of L. Ron Hubbard’s technology in its exact and original form, no matter what happens to the society.”
This is a Timeline of Scientology and its forerunner Dianetics, particularly its foundation and development by author L. Ron Hubbard as well as general publications, articles, books and other milestones.
Recognition of Scientology and the Church of Scientology varies from country to country with respect to state recognition for religious status, charitable status, or tax exempt status. Decisions are contingent upon the legal constructs of each individual country, and results are not uniform worldwide. For example, the absence of a clear definition for 'religion' or 'religious worship' has resulted in unresolved and uncertain status for Scientology in some countries.
Scientology is a set of beliefs and practices invented by the American author L. Ron Hubbard, and an associated movement. It is variously defined as a cult, a business, a religion, a scam, or a new religious movement. Hubbard initially developed a set of ideas that he called Dianetics, which he represented as a form of therapy. An organization that he established in 1950 to promote it went bankrupt, and Hubbard lost the rights to his book Dianetics in 1952. He then recharacterized his ideas as a religion, likely for tax purposes, and renamed them Scientology. By 1954, he had regained the rights to Dianetics and founded the Church of Scientology, which remains the largest organization promoting Scientology. There are practitioners independent of the Church, in what is referred to as the Free Zone. Estimates put the number of Scientologists at under 40,000 worldwide.
The Citizens Commission on Human Rights International (CCHR) is an anti-psychiatry lobbying organization established in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and psychiatrist Thomas Szasz. Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, its stated mission is to "eradicate abuses committed under the guise of mental health and enact patient and consumer protections." It is regarded by most non-Scientologists as a Scientology front group whose purpose is to push the organization's anti-psychiatry agenda.
Scientology in the United Kingdom is practised mainly within the Church of Scientology and its related groups which go under names including "Hubbard Academy of Personal Independence" and "Dianetics and Scientology Life Improvement Centre". The national headquarters, and former global headquarters, is Saint Hill Manor at East Grinstead, which for seven years was the home of L. Ron Hubbard, the pulp fiction author who created Scientology. In the 2021 census, there were 1,844 individuals in England and Wales who listed themselves as Scientologists in their census returns, almost half of which lived in the area around East Grinstead in West Sussex, which hosts the British Scientology Headquarters at Saint Hill Manor. This is a decline of just under a quarter since census day, 2011.
Scientology was founded in the United States by science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard and is now practiced in many other countries.
Bonnie Woods is an American former Scientologist and critic of the Church of Scientology. Woods resides in Britain. She was a member of the Sea Org within Scientology, and left in 1982. She and her family were monitored by a private investigator. The Church of Scientology spread pamphlets around her East Grinstead neighbourhood making negative claims about her. Woods sued for libel against the organization – in response Scientology filed three libel suits against her. Her case eventually reached the High Court of Justice. Scientology paid her for costs and damages, and admitted that the claims it had made about her were false.
The tax status of the Church of Scientology in the United States has been the subject of decades of controversy and litigation. Although the Church of Scientology was initially partially exempted by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from paying federal income tax, its two principal entities in the United States lost this exemption in 1957 and 1968. This action was taken because of concerns that church funds were being used for the private gain of its founder L. Ron Hubbard or due to an international psychiatric conspiracy against Scientology.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)Canada's highest court in 1997 upheld the criminal conviction of the Church of Scientology of Toronto and one of its officers for a breach of trust stemming from covert operations in Canadian government offices during the 1970s and 1980s.
