THE P.E.I. Human Rights Commission awarded a fired Presbyterian Church minister $600,000 May 31, ruling she was fired due to gender discrimination.

The tribunal also ordered the denomination to restore Gael Matheson's license to minister, give her letters of apology and recommendation, and restore her to her ministry position. The church has said it will appeal the decision to the courts. However, lawyers for both sides told BCCN it is possible a settlement will be negotiated.

Matheson was assigned to the four-congregation Murray Harbour North charge in 1983. After a two-year probation, she was reappointed, receiving 78.4 percent of the vote.

Problems emerged soon after - some of it rooted in opposition to women ministers.

In 1986, Matheson began receiving anonymous letters whiich cited Bible verses against women clergy, complained about sermon lengths and service times - and accused Matheson of having a lesbian affair, and of abusing members of the girls' choir.

Around that time, Elmer MacPherson, chair of the manse committee, began stalking Matheson. He was removed from the church in 1988, and convicted of stalking in 1991.

The presbytery appointed a committee to investigate the problems; they cleared Matheson of the lesbianism and child abuse charges. They appointed further committees in the 1990s to investigate ongoing tensions in the church. They concluded the relationship between Matheson and the church could not be restored, and removed Matheson from the charge in 1996. She was asked to undergo a personal and professional assessment before being given another charge. She refused, and has had only sporadic employment since.

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In 1998, Matheson took the church to the P.E.I. Human Rights Commission. Due to procedural disputes, the Commission did not begin hearing the case until 2003. In 2006, a human rights tribunal ruled Matheson had been the victim of sexual discrimination.

It ruled that the anonymous letters and the stalking constituted sexual harassment, and that the church and presbytery had not adequately defended Matheson against this harassment. It also ruled the presbytery had discriminated against Matheson "by failing to provide a workplace that was not hostile to female clergy" - and also by firing her.

Alex Godfrey, lawyer for the Presbyterian Church, told BCCN the church's position is that Matheson was dismissed over issues of competence and that the denomination "did everything possible" to resolve the problems.

Peter Ghiz, Matheson's lawyer, said "the issue is not about whether churches are required to hire women" - but rather that, if a church ordains them, then secular laws apply and they must receive fair treatment.

They don't have to believe women should be in ordained ministry, he added, but they have no right to "sabotage their ministry." Further, the denomination must "take positive steps to root out" such hostility.

Don Hutchison, legal counsel for the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, told BCCN the decision "sends a clear message that when a denomination ordains female clergy, it has a responsibility to ensure that female clergy are posted to a receptive environment."

- Jim Coggins

July 2007