Alberta Hutterites renew fight against licence photos

CALGARY — Members of two Hutterite religious communities in southern Alberta who have been fighting a legal battle against photo driver's licences are asking the Supreme Court of Canada to their case — again.

In a 4-3 ruling in July, the Supreme Court sided with the Alberta government, reaffirming the province's legal requirement for photographs on all driver's licences for security purposes.

Members of the Three Hills Hutterite colony northeast of Calgary and the Wilson colony near Lethbridge fought the requirement, arguing their charter rights to religious freedom were being violated.

Hutterites interpret the Old Testament's second commandment — which in part bans "graven images" — as forbidding them from having their photos willingly taken.

The Hutterites won a series of lower court rulings before the loss at the Supreme Court in July.

"The negative impact on the freedom of religion of colony members who wish to obtain licences does not outweigh the benefits associated with the universal photo requirement," Supreme Court Justice Beverley McLachlin wrote in support of the July decision.

Requests for a rehearing are rarely granted by Canada's top court.

Three Hills colony manager Sam Wurz said the close vote on Canada's highest court has given the Hutterites hope they could win if the case is heard once more.

The colonies' lawyer filed the application on Aug. 27.

"We'll participate in the process just like we've done at every stage in the legal process," said Cam Traynor, spokesman for Service Alberta.

In the meantime, the province won't renew the temporary photo-free licences granted to the Hutterites in question during the previous legal hearings once they expire, he said.

For years, Alberta allowed people to carry special driver's licences without photographs if they had religious objections to having their photo taken, but the province changed the law in 2003, requiring all licences to carry photos. Prior to that change, Alberta had issued 453 photoless licences, just over half of them to members of Hutterian Brethren colonies.

Two southern Alberta Hutterite communities, supported by 14 others in the province, sued Alberta and won. The trial court said that forcing them to be photographed for licences violated their constitutional right to religious freedom, while the province argued the photographs were necessary to prevent identity theft and maintain the integrity of the licences.

In May 2006, the Albert Court of Appeal upheld that ruling and said it was unlikely Alberta would be inundated with other requests for special photoless licences.

The province chose to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court, and, in November 2007, the top court agreed to hear the case.