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 In early 1978, no one could have predicted that a two day
trial held in the sleepy town of Three Hills would test the future of
democracy in Alberta so acutely—but that is exactly what happened.
The previous autumn, approximately 50 families who
belonged to the Holdeman Church of God in Christ Mennonite sect, removed
their children from the local public school at Linden and placed them in the
Kneehill Christian School, a school of their own creation that supported
their religious beliefs. Shortly thereafter, although their children had
been attending regular classes, the families were charged with truancy. As
the Kneehill School was staffed with uncertified teachers, it was not an
institution recognized by the province of Alberta. Accordingly, each of the
families whose children attended this school would have to stand trial on
the basis of truancy.
Due to its nature, the ensuing trial drew the interest of
a wide variety of citizens. For two days, journalists, lawyers, politicians,
teachers, and an entire Mennonite community hung on every word uttered in
the Three Hills courtroom. In an age of accelerated social change, the case
unearthed an essential area of law yet to be defined in Alberta. Bound up in
the validity of the Kneehill school was the right to religious affiliation
and ultimately, the freedom of individual choice.
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Heritage Community Foundation Presents
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