When Dr. Henry Morgentaler starts offering abortions in 1968, he knows he’s breaking the law. Eventually, police move in, shutting down his Montreal clinic, arresting him, and sending him to jail. But instead of backing down, Morgentaler is emboldened, re-opening his clinic to offer thousands more abortions, and even performing a procedure on live TV, on Mother’s Day.

Host Falen Johnson and journalist Julie Ireton explore the multiple court battles Morgentaler fought in Quebec, his time in prison, and why he was willing to go to such great lengths to challenge the province’s abortion laws, over and over again.

This episode is part one of two. Find part two here: LINK LINK (will update when live)

After three court battles and jail time in Quebec, Dr. Henry Morgentaler sets his sight on offering abortions across Canada. He’s attacked with garden shears, his Toronto clinic is firebombed, and he and his staff are arrested. But with a new Charter of Rights and Freedoms in place, his legal defence finds a new audience —at the Supreme Court of Canada.

Host Falen Johnson and journalist Julie Ireton revisit how Morgentaler used the courts to remake Canada’s abortion laws, the fierce debate that followed, and how a new constitution created a climate where abortion was removed from the criminal code.

This episode is part two of two. Find part one here.

Gurbaj Singh Multani is just playing basketball when the ceremonial dagger that symbolizes his Sikh faith falls onto the playground of his Montreal school. The next thing the 11-year-old knows, his principal is giving him an ultimatum: hand over his kirpan, a symbol of his Sikh faith, or leave school.

Host Falen Johnson and journalist Sonali Karnick take us through the case of Multani v Commission scolaire Marguerite-Bourgeoys. It sparks a heated public debate over multiculturalism in post 9/11 Quebec, with grown-ups hurling slurs at the tween, and ends with a landmark ruling for religious freedoms in Canada.