Jerilynn Prior has spent her life refusing to fund war. In this interview with Patrick Diaz, she shares the story of her tax resistance, from protesting American military spending during the Vietnam War, to taking the Canadian government to court.
At the heart of her case: should conscientious objection to military taxation be a constitutional right? Jerilynn argued it should, protected under the freedom of conscience protections in Section 2 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Jerilynn talks about what led her to take this stand, rooted in decades of Quaker practice. She also breaks down what it’s actually like to bring a legal test case, which tactics worked, and which didn’t.
This interview draws on Jerilynn’s 1992 Sunderland P. Gardner Lecture, published as “I Feel The Winds of God Today: Leadings as Explored by a Woman, Mother, Doctor, Quaker” — Canadian Quaker Pamphlet Series No. 38.
Additional Resources:
I Feel The Winds of God Today: Leadings as Explored by a Woman, Mother, Doctor, Quaker