FREDERICTON, NB: The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms announces that lawyers funded by the Justice Centre have filed two Applications for Judicial Review in the New Brunswick Court of King’s Bench on behalf of Campaign Life Coalition. The applications ask the Court to quash decisions of the New Brunswick Human Rights Commission that referred complaints about two political flyers to a Board of Inquiry, arguing that the referrals unjustifiably infringed freedom of expression protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. One flyer supported parental notification and consent under New Brunswick’s former Policy 713. The other opposed the teaching of transgender-related topics in schools.
In both matters, the applications argue that the Commission failed to apply binding Supreme Court of Canada jurisprudence governing discriminatory expression and breached procedural fairness during its screening process.
Campaign Life Coalition is a national, non-profit organization dedicated to pro-life and pro-family advocacy. In August 2024, it distributed two flyers to homes across New Brunswick. One flyer addressed parental consent and notification under the province’s former Policy 713 regarding students’ adoption of new names and pronouns at school. The second criticized the teaching of transgender-related topics in schools.
Following the flyer campaign, two New Brunswick residents separately filed complaints with the New Brunswick Human Rights Commission. The Commission’s role at this stage was to determine whether there was an arguable case of discrimination warranting a hearing before a Board of Inquiry. On April 23, 2026, it referred both complaints for a hearing.
The judicial review applications argue that the Commission fundamentally misinterpreted the legal test governing discriminatory expression established by the Supreme Court of Canada. They also allege that the Commission acted unfairly by departing from its stated procedures, allowing complainants to amend their complaints after the organization had already filed its responses and submissions.
The applications further state that the flyers constituted political expression concerning matters of public policy during an election period, making them among the most strongly protected forms of expression under Canadian constitutional law. They argue that human rights legislation does not prohibit political advocacy or expression that merely causes offence or hurt feelings.
Constitutional lawyer Hatim Kheir said the group, “…was engaged in political speech, which is the most protected form of expression in our constitutional system. We are asking the Court to provide guidance to the Human Rights Commission to ensure that free expression is properly protected.”
The next step in the proceedings will be for the respondents to file any evidence in response to the applications.
Court documents and flyers are available here:
Application for Judicial Review – Policy 713 flyer
Application for Judicial Review – Transgender-related topics flyer
No Secrets flyer
Transgender-related flyer
The Justice Centre is Canada’s leading civil liberties organization defending Charter rights and freedoms in the courts of law and in the court of public opinion. Founded in 2010, the Justice Centre funds lawyers across Canada, relies entirely on voluntary donations to carry out its mission, and issues official tax receipts to donors.
