Mennonite
Central
Committee

Conscientious objection to military service well-rooted in Canada

September 8, 2006

Historic promises of military exemption helped attract thousands of Mennonite, Quaker and Brethren in Christ to Canada since 1793.

Several Mennonite pastors have recently asked Bill Janzen, director of MCC's Ottawa office whether these promises still hold.

Janzen says he is confident that if Canada were to adopt a conscription law—which he sees as very unlikely—that law would provide for conscientious objection. But he is not prepared to say that the federal government would be legally obligated to include such provisions because of the historic promises.

Janzen is author of Limits on Liberty, a book published in 1990 that explores the experiences of Mennonite, Hutterite and Doukhobour communities in Canada. In it he points out that in the two world wars (1914-1918 and 1939-1945) leaders in the Canadian government had a strong commitment to Mennonites and to conscientious objectors generally. However legal developments did not reflect the early promises in an exact way.

"The reality was quite messy," he says.

Nevertheless, Janzen believes the idea of conscientious objection to military service is well-rooted in Canada. In addition to the war-time experiences, there are two more recent references.

In 1981 when Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms was being formulated, MCC asked for a clause protecting, "conscientious objection to the taking of human life." That was not accepted but the then Minister of Justice, Jean Chretien, wrote: "I believe that 'freedom of conscience' as provided in Section 2(a) is sufficiently broad to be interpreted by the courts to permit conscientious objection." And in the 1990s, the defence department agreed to a policy that allows individuals who develop conscientious objector convictions while in the military, to apply for a release on those grounds. Brian Palmer, a young man whose experience demonstrated the need for such a provision, was instrumental in getting this, as was MCC lobbying. Later Palmer became a Mennonite minister. In agreeing to this provision defence officials said it was compatible with their personnel and human rights policies. In addition, Janzen notes, the concept of conscientious objection has gained considerable acceptance internationally. More than a dozen European countries now have such provisions and the United Nations Commission for Human Rights recognized it as a basic right. Janzen said he hopes Mennonite concerns on the issue are broader than conscientious objection to military service. He paraphrased the late Frank H. Epp who said: "Our task is not only to keep our own sons and daughters from going to war; it is to keep all young people from going."

This call is rooted in the Bible, he said. "Even the basic teaching about loving our neighbour as ourselves should lead us to seek for all other people the same peace, security and well-being that we want for ourselves."

More information on conscientious objection in Canada

 

A history conference on conscientious objection in Canada will be held on October 20 - 21at the University of Winnipeg. The conference will highlight the experience of Canadian conscientious objectors (COs) in the Second World War.

More information about the conference