Editing Scientology and law (section)

=== Canada ===
{{See also|Scientology status by country#Canada|Scientology in Canada}}

In ''[[R v Church of Scientology of Toronto]]'' (1992), the Church of Scientology was convicted on two charges of breaching the public trust and fined $250,000, and seven members were convicted on various charges. The case was brought to light after the USA FBI raids in the 1970s on Church of Scientology properties resulted in the discovery of stolen Canadian records, followed by a Canadian raid on the Toronto property and the discovery of 250,000 documents in more than 900 boxes.<ref>{{cite news |last=Claridge |first=Thomas |date=September 12, 1992 |title=Church of Scientology fined $250,000 for espionage Judge rejects jail sentences for individuals who infiltrated government in '70s |publisher=The Globe and Mail |url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A164025909/STND?u=wikipedia&sid=bookmark-STND&xid=7e7a46df }}</ref>

{{blockquote|text=According to court records, Scientology's [[Guardian Office]] in Toronto ran a [[spy ring]] from 1974 to 1976 that infiltrated [[Revenue Canada]], the [[Royal Canadian Mounted Police]], the [[Ontario Provincial Police]], [[Toronto Police Service|Metro Police]], the [[Attorney General of Ontario|provincial attorney general's office]], the [[Canadian Mental Health Association]], the [[Ontario Medical Association]] and two law firms.<ref>{{cite news |title=Toronto Church Faces Heavy Fine Scientology Branch is Convicted of Spying on Police, Others |date=August 19, 1992 |first1=Barry |last1=Brown |first2=David Y |last2=Cooper |publisher=[[The Buffalo News]] |url=https://buffalonews.com/news/toronto-church-faces-heavy-fine-scientology-branch-is-convicted-of-spying-on-police-others/article_671948ed-5f3a-5867-bb1c-e56ba12bace1.html |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030195312/https://buffalonews.com/news/toronto-church-faces-heavy-fine-scientology-branch-is-convicted-of-spying-on-police-others/article_671948ed-5f3a-5867-bb1c-e56ba12bace1.html |archive-date=October 30, 2020}}</ref> }}

In ''[[Hill v Church of Scientology of Toronto]]'' (1995), Justice Casey Hill, at that time a [[Crown attorney]] involved in the ''R. v. Church of Scientology of Toronto'' case, sued and won CAD$1,600,000 for libel, the largest libel damage award in Canadian history. During the case, it was shown that a file had been kept on him as an "Enemy Canada". In their decision, the [[Supreme Court of Canada]] found:
{{Blockquote|text=In this case, there was ample evidence upon which the jury could properly base their finding of aggravated damages. The existence of the file on Casey Hill under the designation "Enemy Canada" was evidence of the malicious intention of Scientology to "neutralize" him. The press conference was organized in such a manner as to ensure the widest possible dissemination of the libel. Scientology continued with the contempt proceedings although it knew its allegations were false. In its motion to remove Hill from the search warrant proceedings, it implied that he was not trustworthy and might act in those proceedings in a manner that would benefit him in his libel action. It pleaded justification or truth of its statement when it knew it to be false. It subjected Hill to a demeaning cross-examination and, in its address to the jury, depicted Hill as a manipulative actor.<ref>
''[[Hill v. Church of Scientology of Toronto]]'', {{lexum-scc2|1995|2|1130}}
</ref>}}