2012 & 2013: Kirpan Accomodation at BC, Alberta & Ontario Courthouses

In 2012, WSO successfully negotiated kirpan accommodations in all Toronto courthouses. This was 3 years after a Sikh woman was denied entry into a Toronto courthouse sparking a collaboration with the Ontario Human Rights Commission, Toronto Police Service, Toronto Police Services Board, and the Ministry of the Attorney General to introduce the accommodation. This was followed by a similar accommodation in Alberta courthouses in 2013.

In the same year, WSO worked with the British Columbia Ministry of Justice as well as the BC Sheriff Service to develop accommodation guidelines for the kirpan in BC courthouses. We provided training material for court officers on the kirpan and appropriate techniques to screen Sikh visitors to courthouses with a training video being developed in partnership with the Justice Institute of British Columbia.