Has job to protect all its citizens

Ontario sharia tribunals assailed

Letter, May 22.

While Ontario's 1991 Arbitration Act may provide rights for religious groups to conduct tribunals, it is the government's job to protect the rights of all citizens. Given the concerns of many Canadian Muslim women, no such tribunal should go forward (if at all) without full funding and programs in place for a tandem provincial outreach initiative. This should include affirming that the tribunal is a choice; also the establishment of provincial legal/social service centres to advise affected citizens of their rights under Canadian law and to fully support them in pursuing their cases through Canadian courts should they choose to do so.

Dawn McBrearty, Toronto