TORONTO — After two years of acrimonious debate, the Canadian province of Ontario said Sept. 11 it would not permit the use of private Islamic tribunals to settle family disputes between Muslims. In an announcement that caught both supporters and opponents of Shariah tribunals off-guard, Premier Dalton McGuinty told Canadian Press that he would nix the use of all religious law in family arbitration. “I’ve come to the conclusion that the debate has gone on long enough,” McGuinty said. “There will be no Shariah law in Ontario. There will be no religious arbitration in Ontario. There will be one law for all Ontarians.”
In May, the neighboring province of Quebec also rejected the use of Shariah tribunals.
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