Lawyers
John Sikkema

- T: (613) 221-5895
- F: (343) 888-2619
- E: john@acaciagroup.ca
Professional Affiliations:
- County of Carleton Law Association
- Christian Legal Fellowship
- Advocates for the Rule of Law
About
John Sikkema is a founding member of the Acacia Group practicing in both our litigation and solicitor departments. John’s litigation practice focuses on
constitutional and human rights issues. John has written extensively about
these issues for both popular and scholarly publications.
John also works with churches, charities, and other faith-based organizations to assist them with all their legal needs including litigation, policy
development, and corporate or charitable matters.
Prior to joining the Acacia Group, John served as Legal Counsel to the Association for Reformed Political Action (ARPA) Canada. In that role, John provided legal research for ARPA’s board and staff, conducted federal and provincial legal policy analysis, contributed to their publications, and worked on court cases and interventions. Prior to his work with ARPA, John served as Associate Legal Counsel for Christian Legal Fellowship (CLF). Prior to CLF, John articled with a mid-sized firm in Toronto. He was called to the bar in 2015.
John earned his JD from Queen’s University in 2014 and his LLM from Emory University in 2019, where he was awarded the Gertie and John Witte Prize in Law and Religion “for outstanding work in law and Christianity.”
John has appeared as counsel before the Supreme Court of Canada, the Federal Court of Canada, the Ontario Court of Appeal, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, the Divisional Court of Ontario, the Ontario Court of Justice, and the B.C. Supreme Court. John was counsel in a precedent-setting Charter case in Ontario which struck portions of the Ontario Freedom of Information and Privacy Protection Act. In that case, John successfully argued that the Charter of Rights and Freedoms’ guarantee to freedom of
expression required the government to provide access to certain data that the
government had placed off limits.
John’s writing has appeared in the Supreme Court Law Review, Law Matters,
Christian Legal Journal, Policy Options, National Post, Comment, and C2C
Journal, among other publications.
John serves as an Executive Member of Advocates for the Rule of Law, a Canadian legal think tank. John is also an adjunct instructor in human rights at
Redeemer University.
Expertise
Details
Practice Areas:
Constitutional and Human Rights Law
Civil Litigation
Appellate Advocacy and Supreme Court Agency
Ecclesiastical Law
Education Law
Human Rights Law
Charity and Not-for-profit Law
Complex Legal Research and Opinions
Strategic Litigation and Test Cases
Bar Admissions:
Called to the bar: 2015
Education:
Brock University (2011) BA (Hon) in Political Science and Business
Queen’s University (2014) JD
Emory University (2019) LLM
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church of Canada St. Mary Cathedral v. Aga, 2021 SCC 22
Law Society of British Columbia v. Trinity Western University, 2018 SCC 32
Trinity Western University v. Law Society of Upper Canada, 2018 SCC 33
Carter v. Canada, 2016 SCC 4
Highwood Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses (Judicial Committee) v. Wall, 2018 SCC 26
ARPA Canada & John Boekee v. City of Hamilton (ongoing)
Guelph and Area Right to Life v. City of Guelph, 2022 ONSC 43
Redeemer University College v. Canada (Employment, Workforce Development and Labour), 2021 FC 686
A.B. v. C.D., 2020 BCCA 11
ARPA Canada and Patricia Maloney v R., 2017 ONSC 3285
The Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society v Trinity Western University, 2016 NSCA 59
Trinity Western University v. The Law Society of Upper Canada, 2016 ONCA 518
Trinity Western University v. The Law Society of British Columbia, 2016 BCCA 423
Expertise
Practice Areas:
Constitutional and Human Rights Law
Civil Litigation
Appellate Advocacy and Supreme Court Agency
Ecclesiastical Law
Education Law
Employment and Labour Law for Employers
Charity and Not-for-profit Law
Complex Legal Research and Opinions
Strategic Litigation and Test Cases
Bar Admissions:
Called to the bar: 2015
Education:
Brock University (2011) BA (Hon) in Political Science and Business
Queen’s University (2014) JD
Emory University (2019) LLM
Details
Carter v. Canada, 2016 SCC 4
Highwood Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses (Judicial Committee) v. Wall, 2018 SCC 26
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church et al. v. Aga et al. (SCC, judgment forthcoming)
A.B. v. C.D., 2020 BCCA 11
ARPA Canada and Patricia Maloney v R., 2017 ONSC 3285
The Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society v Trinity Western University, 2016 NSCA 59
Trinity Western University v. The Law Society of Upper Canada, 2016 ONCA 518
Trinity Western University v. The Law Society of British Columbia, 2016 BCCA 423