Covid-19 provides opportunities for police state persecution of Christians

And as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them,
Being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead.
And they laid hands on them, and put them in hold unto the next day: for it was now eventide...
...But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves,
Saying, What shall we do to these men? for that indeed a notable miracle hath been done by them is manifest to all them that dwell in Jerusalem; and we cannot deny it.
But that it spread no further among the people, let us straitly threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name.
And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.
But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye.
For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.
So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them, because of the people: for all men glorified God for that which was done. Acts 4:1-3, 15-21

Freedom is everybody's business--your business, my business, the church's business--and the man who will not use his freedom to defend his freedom does not deserve his freedom. Carl McIntire

Any similarity between the subject of this post and the one immediately below, is of course, purely coincidental. ;) The Covid-19 crisis seems to be gradually winding down, but the harassment and persecution of Christians by politicians and police in the United States and Canada is continuing, and is unprecedented. Other blogs on my blog roll have reported on cases of Covid-19 persecution in the U.S.A., and the reader is invited to search those blogs for information. While churches in some areas are holding drive-in services with no problems, other parts of the country are less tolerant. I'll mention just a few examples from the United States of churches being prohibited from holding services that couldn't possibly be endangering health. First, this example from Tulsa, as reported by Michael Overall of the Tulsa World, March 29, 2020:

The mayor’s shelter-in-place orders scuttled plans for a Sunday morning drive-in church service at Tulsa’s iconic Admiral Twin theater.

The Tulsa Police Department informed the nondenominational Common Ground church Saturday afternoon that the service couldn’t happen, elder Brian Leonard said.

“We’re disappointed,” he said. “But we want to comply with the law of the land.”

Normally worshiping in a converted in-door movie theater near 51st Street and Memorial Road, the church had planned to use the drive-in theater to have services without violating Tulsa’s COVID-19 shutdown.

The Tulsa Health Department had approved the idea earlier in the week, including plans for Pastor Tom Dillingham to preach from the back of a flatbed truck while congregants stayed in their cars.

But Mayor G.T Bynum issued a safer-at-home order effective at 11:59 p.m. Saturday, banning “all public and private events or social gatherings outside of a family or living unit” until April 16.

After staying open Saturday night, the Admiral Twin will cancel movie showings Sunday night, owner Blake Smith told the Tulsa World.

He will seek clarification from the mayor’s office Monday on whether the drive-in could reopen under the new restrictions.

“If he wants us to stay closed, we’ll stay closed,” Smith said.

“We stay opened because we wanted to give people with cabin fever a place to go and still maintain social distancing. But if we need to close, we’ll close. Whatever it takes to get this all over with as soon as possible.”

This example from Las Vegas, as reported by John Przybys of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, April 9, 2020:

The pastor of a Las Vegas church who had been planning to conduct a live Easter service now says the church will only stream the service on YouTube.

The Rev. Joseph Guy, lead pastor of Open Arms Community Church, 2800 W. Sahara Ave., had been planning a live service for Sunday. On Wednesday, he announced plans to stream the service on the internet with just a handful of church staff members in the sanctuary, and offered the public the option of watching the service from their cars.

However, Gov. Steve Sisolak announced a few hours later that drive-in services, as well as religious gatherings of 10 or more people, now are prohibited in an effort to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Guy said after Sisolak’s announcement that the church now only will livestream Sunday’s 6 p.m. service. Three to five church members will be in the sanctuary to handle the streaming, he said, and weekly services after Easter also will be livestreamed only.

“I think that’s probably the best option for us,” Guy said, although not being able to conduct a live Easter service to open the new church is “definitely a big disappointment for me.”

Guy said his goal was to “foster a sense of community on the biggest day in Church history.” He added that he holds “a deep respect for Governor Sisolak,” but called cancellation of the live service “a hard pill for me to swallow.”

One Las Vegas City Councillor has criticized the Governor's order, as reported by Blake Apgar of the Review-Journal, April 9, 2020 (link in original):

A Las Vegas City Council member and a group of religious leaders are speaking out against Gov. Steve Sisolak’s directive that bans gatherings of 10 or more people at places of worship.

Ward 2 Councilwoman Victoria Seaman gathered with faith leaders Thursday to speak to reporters about her opposition to the governor’s order.

“We all understand that these are trying times and that we need to make sacrifices to get through them,” Seaman said. “We do, however, disagree that those sacrifices need to include the free exercise of religion that this country was built on.”

Seaman’s public opposition comes one day after Sisolak announced the order, which includes a ban on pop-up and drive-in services. She said she considered the prohibition of drive-in services an overreach.

Pastor Paul Marc Goulet of the International Church of Las Vegas said his congregation wanted to hold Easter services in the church’s parking lot with people attending in their cars. Goulet, like Seaman, called the directive an overreach. He asked that Sisolak reconsider his decision.

“We’re asking politely, we’re asking you with all of our hearts, that this is something that’s both physical and emotional and relational,” Goulet said.

Seaman said late Thursday that City Attorney Brad Jerbic determined the International Church of Las Vegas will be able to hold its drive-in Easter service as long as no one leaves their cars and nothing is handed out.

“So we are elated that they can have their Easter drive-in service, and we think that it’s completely following all the guidelines of safety for the coronavirus,” she said.

A spokeswoman for Nevada’s coronavirus response effort declined to comment on the concerns Thursday, but Sisolak said Wednesday that the decision was not easy. A devout Catholic and frequent churchgoer himself, the governor said he prayed about his decision before announcing it.

Sisolak previously issued a general ban on gatherings of 10 or more people in March.

Pastor David Teis of Liberty Baptist Church also took issue with Sisolak’s directive.

“We do not believe that the governor has a right constitutionally to tell us what we can and cannot do,” Teis said.

Because the free exercise of religion is a fundamental constitutional right enshrined in the First Amendment, any restrictions must pass the highest level of legal scrutiny. Rules must be written narrowly to serve a compelling government interest — in this case, to prevent of the spread of disease.

Sisolak encouraged religious leaders to use alternatives to in-person services, such as online streaming. The International Church of Las Vegas website said services are only being held online until further notice.

“We are living in unique times. Science tells us that putting large numbers of people together during a pandemic for any reason … is an invitation for disease to do its work,” Sisolak said in announcing the order Wednesday.

As of Thursday night, the state had reported more than 80 deaths from the novel coronavirus...

What's disappointing to this blogger are the wimpy responses of some church leaders. The governing authorities are far exceeding their legitimate authority, and have no right to deny the freedom of these churches to hold services, especially since the services can't possibly be regarded by anyone with any wisdom of violating the spirit of social distancing. Those who are taking away the freedom of Christians and others can be trusted only to keep dredging up the same old lies to justify such behaviour, especially "These measures are only temporary" and "It's all for everybody's good." Pastor Dillingham in Tulsa used the phrase "comply with the law of the land," but he fails to recognize that these aren't laws that have been passed by legislative bodies, but are just decrees being issued by dictators. The churches mentioned in the above articles should have gone ahead and held services, anyway, as a challenge to the unconstitutional behaviour of the authorities.

Two churches in Kansas decided not to take the denial of their rights lying down; as reported by Jason Tidd of the Wichita Eagle, April 16, 2020 (updated April 17, 2020):

Two Kansas churches and their pastors are suing the governor over her executive order that bans mass religious gatherings due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The lawsuit was filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Wichita by Calvary Baptist Church in Junction City and pastor Aaron Harris and First Baptist Church in Dodge City and pastor Stephen Ormond. They are being represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom. Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly is the only defendant.

The federal lawsuit follows a narrow decision by the Kansas Supreme Court on Saturday that allowed Kelly’s mass gathering ban to prohibit religious services with more than 10 people. The ruling came before Easter Sunday worship services, and justices did not consider the constitutionality of the order relating to religious liberty.

The churches and their pastors are asking a federal judge to issue an injunction prohibiting Kelly’s executive order from being enforced, allowing churches to meet in-person with more than 10 people. The pastors also seek a declaration that the executive order violates the First Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment, as well as the Kansas Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

The willingness of churches in Kansas to stand up for their rights brought a positive result, as reported by Anna Spoerre of the Wichita Eagle, April 19, 2020 (links in original):

The Rev. Scott Hanks said Sunday’s in-person service at Heritage Baptist Church in Lawrence didn’t look much different from last weekend’s.

Congregants still sat with a pew between them to follow social distancing guidelines. They didn’t shake hands. The offering plate wasn’t passed around, and communion wasn’t administered.

The biggest difference: more people showed up.

Heritage Baptist Church is one of at least three churches in Kansas to continue holding in-person services as a legal battle continues over whether churches should be excluded from Gov. Laura Kelly’s executive order limiting mass gatherings to 10 or fewer people.

Local, state and national public health officials have said people should avoid gathering in groups, as part of a strategy to slow the spread of the new coronavirus.

Earlier this month, a board of the state’s top legislators overrode Kelly’s order. Then, the Kansas Supreme Court struck down the override hours before Easter.

The latest development came Saturday when a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order against part of Kelly’s executive order. The ruling paved the way for in-person religious services without violating the law.

Hanks, the pastor at Heritage Baptist in Lawrence, declined to say exactly how many people attended Sunday.

“I’m sure I could, but I better not do that,” he said. “I guess I don’t want to stir up more problems by giving out numbers.

But Hanks said the crowd had grown from the week before and that it was “absolutely” more than 10 people, adding that he “definitely had a good crowd today.”

As state officials in recent weeks began encouraging social distancing and placing tighter restrictions on gatherings, many churches turned to the Internet to stream their services without the physical presence of their laity...

...Pastors of two other churches — Calvary Baptist Church in Junction City and First Baptist Church in Dodge City — filed a lawsuit against Gov. Laura Kelly on Thursday, saying her order violated the first amendment and the Kansas Preservation of Religious Freedom Act.

They are being represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian nonprofit.

On Saturday U.S. District Judge John Broomes issued a temporary restraining order against part of Kelly’s executive order.

“Plaintiffs have made a sufficient showing that a live controversy exists as to whether the Governor’s current restrictions on religious activity . . . violate Plaintiffs’ First Amendment right to freely exercise their religion,” Broomes wrote in the ruling.

“Defendant has not argued that mass gatherings at churches pose unique health risks that do not arise in mass gatherings at airports, offices, and production facilities. Yet the exemption for religious activities has been eliminated while it remains for a multitude of activities that appear comparable in terms of health risks.”

As part of the Broomes’s order, the plaintiffs’ churches have to abide by 24 protocols, including those Hanks observed his congregation following Sunday.

Many of the church’s elderly members have been staying home, Hanks said. His congregation includes about 300 members. Some in attendance wore gloves and masks.

He noted that Douglas County had 43 confirmed cases and zero deaths as of Sunday, according to Douglas County health officials. No church members or relatives of church members have tested positive, he said.

“I am concerned, and obviously other precautions might have to be taken if there was some way the virus was in the church or somebody who had it,” Hanks said. “But there’s none of that.”

Hanks added it’s not possible for his church to stream services. There are no fiber optics on the side of Interstate-70 where the church sits, he said.

He’s also heard of churches hosting drive-up services in their parking lots.

“But you can’t get around that the Bible says ‘not forsaking the assembling of yourselves together,’” he said, referencing a passage from the book of Hebrews.

“There was no internet when the Bible was written,” he continued. “God intended for people to get together for church, and so that’s why we’re doing it, because we believe that’s what God wants.”

Hanks said he’s not taking the coronavirus lightly, acknowledging there is a risk when gathering.

He plans to continue following outlined precautions and holding in-person services for the foreseeable future.

“I just like people to know that we’re not some crazy cult group or something that demands for people to come to church,” Hanks said. “All we’re trying to do is during this virus time, is to leave a way out for people to be able to come to church.

“I look at it this way: Out of all the times that we need God, it’s now, so why would we close church doors during a time of national virus?”

In a news release Saturday, Kelly said the ruling is only the first step, adding that her order wasn’t about religion, but rather a public health crisis.

”There is still a long way to go in this case, and we will continue to be proactive and err on the side of caution where Kansans’ health and safety is at stake,” she said.

“Courts across the country have recognized that during this pandemic emergency the law allows governments to prioritize proper public health and safety...”

Meanwhile, the same things are going on in Trudeaupia Canada. Here's an example from Saskatchewan, as reported by Stephanie Taylor of Canadian Press, April 14, 2020:

NIPAWIN, Sask. - Saskatchewan's premier wants an explanation for why an Easter drive-in church service was prohibited over the weekend.

Scott Moe's office said the Saskatchewan Health Authority has been asked to account for its decision, as drive-in events seem to maintain safe physical distancing.

"While we must remain vigilant in observing physical distancing, we should also encourage innovative and unique ideas that support the ability of Saskatchewan residents to pull together while staying apart," Moe's office said in a statement Tuesday.

Other churches across the country have held drive-in services.

Moe's office noted that hundreds of people were allowed to pay tribute Monday to the family of Edmonton Oilers hockey player Colby Cave, who died of a brain bleed in Toronto. Vehicles stretching several kilometres lined a highway as his family returned home to Battleford, northwest of Saskatoon.

Last month, the province issued a public health order limiting gatherings to no more than 10 people, one of several restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jordan Gadsby, lead pastor of the Nipawin Apostolic Church, said people were invited to an arena parking lot where they could tune into an Easter Sunday church service from inside their vehicles.

“We thought it would be worthwhile to try and do something a little bit creative and a little bit different," he said.

Gadsby said people in the community were excited about the event, which would have met physical-distancing requirements because nobody needed to step outside a vehicle or roll down windows.

"It’s good for people to have something to look forward to, even if we're not really in the same space," he said.

"When everyone’s stuck at home for long periods of time, it takes a toll on our mental health and our spiritual health."

On Saturday, he said he was called by a public health official who explained that complaints had been made about the drive-in service.

"I believe the wording was that you’re strongly recommended not to do this and we consider this to be a mass gathering, which goes against the public health guidelines," Gadsby said.

He told the official that worshippers wouldn't have physical contact, but there was still concern people would leave their vehicles and visit with one another.

To avoid placing the church and anyone attending at risk of being fined, the church decided to cancel, Gadsby said.

"Having to cancel this event was one of the most disappointing and discouraging moments of leadership for us."

During a press conference Tuesday, health authority CEO Scott Livingstone said the church didn't have a plan for keeping people inside their vehicles during the service.

Livingstone said he would follow up with public health officials, but added he believes the drive-in service presented different circumstances than the vehicular rally for the Cave family.

"A spontaneous event that we're not aware of is quite different than an event that was planned, advertised and that we received public concerns about," he said.

The Calgary-based Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms said it has sent a letter to the health authority expressing concern about the drive-in service being declared a mass gathering.

Jay Cameron, a litigation manager with the justice centre, said he believes what happened to the church wasn't justified, because no health risk was posed by people staying inside their own vehicles.

"People are longing for a sense of community during the coronavirus outbreak and they still have a right of freedom of association and religion as protected by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms."

Cameron said charter rights should not be infringed on based upon hypothetical situations, such as people possibly leaving their vehicles.

He said he wants the health authority to admit it made a mistake and that it won't be repeated; otherwise, the centre will consider legal action.

It's interesting to note that the order issued in Saskatchewan came not from the province's highest elected official, but from a faceless bureaucracy--again, exceeding its legitimate authority.

In Calgary, police have shown themselves to be not representatives of God (as Romans 13 extremists like to promote them), but as bullies throwing their weight around. As reported by Keean Bexte of Rebel News, April 18, 2020:



This wasn't an isolated incident in Calgary, as reported by Mr. Bexte, April 29, 2020:



A similar incident occurred in Edmonton, as reported by Jeff Labine of the Edmonton Journal, April 24, 2020:

An Edmonton man who was handing out religious material in Old Strathcona last week is facing a $1,200 fine following complaints he wasn’t complying with physical distancing guidelines.

James Kitchen, a staff lawyer with the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, said on Thursday his client along with two other men were public speaking and distributing written material using a long stick with a claw at the end last Friday. Around 7 p.m. an Edmonton city police officer ticketed one of the three after initially warning them to leave.

Kitchen said the ticket was issued because his client wasn’t social distancing but he said cellphone footage taken by the three men shows that’s not the case.

“The fact that there is a pandemic doesn’t mean there’s no rule of law, doesn’t mean there is no Constitution,” he said. “In fact, I would argue that it is at that point those foundational principles on how our society operates is even more important.”

To minimize the spread of COVID-19, Alberta’s chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw mandated on March 27 that people gathering outdoors must be at least two metres apart.

Municipal and provincial officials have been granted additional powers to enforce public health orders and guidelines. Fines for violating a public health order start at $1,000...

...Cheryl Voordenhout, a media relations adviser with Edmonton Police Service, said in an email Thursday police received complaints about a small group in the area of 82 Avenue and 104 Street occupying the sidewalk, making it impossible for pedestrians to keep the two-metre distance.

“The group was asked to move one block north, where there is more room, and were given time to comply with the request,” she said. “After they did not comply, one member of the group was issued a ticket under the Public Health Act.”

Voordenhout said it is standard procedure to use the lowest intervention first before escalating to more stringent measures. She said after a verbal warning was not complied with, the next step was to issue a single ticket, rather than ticketing all of the members of the group.

Kitchen, who did not provide any additional details about his client over safety concerns, said the man has had run-ins with police before but didn’t elaborate. He said more details would be revealed if the ticket is challenged in court.

“They were staying put, they had their spot and they were just staying there,” Kitchen said. “According to what the officer said, the complaints were about people being annoyed about stepping around these guys because there’s the six-foot requirement. There were some accusations they weren’t maintaining that even though they were stationary the whole time.”

It's encouraging to see that one pastor in Ontario isn't giving in to police state bullying, as reported by Randy Richmond of the London Free Press, April 28, 2020 (link in original):

AYLMER — Police videotaped a drive-in church service but issued no tickets Sunday as a battle over the meaning of a provincewide emergency order reached new levels.

Church of God Pastor Henry Hildebrandt spoke for about a half-hour to members of his congregation, sitting in about 70 cars in the parking lot of the church, windows up and their radios tuned into the service.

Speaking from a covered platform outside the church, Hildebrandt gave a passionate defence of the need for churchgoers to meet on a Sunday morning.

“I am so glad, so glad we can do it like this. I can never be distant from you, never, I can never be distant from you,” Hildebrandt said. “We’re here this morning in order for you to cast your eyes on me . . . to come here so we can see one another.”

“So why don’t we just wave at each other and honk a little bit?” he said at one point, prompting one of several loud explosion of support from car horns.

“I was overwhelmed to see how many people did stop by to listen in and I also feel we did very well in social distancing,” Hildebrandt said after the service.

“This is not a gathering because people are staying in their vehicles. There was no crowd to be seen anywhere. When I preach, I use my hands, my arms, half of my preaching is by my actions. It’s very important to interact that way, As you saw we waved at each other and blinked the lights. It just makes all the difference.”

Aylmer police officers did not stop anyone entering the parking lot and helped with traffic after the service. They videotaped from the road and from the church driveway.

Watching and listening to the service was London lawyer Nick Cake, who is representing the church in any legal action brought by police.

“There were no laws being broken here. The spirit of the law is to keep people apart physically, not to keep cars apart in a parking lot. It’s to prevent public contact,” Cake said.

“The only ones out of their cars were you guys (about a dozen journalists) and the police.”

Cake said he hopes police witnessed the safety measures taking place.

“Hopefully they do see that everyone kept their windows up and this was just akin to a Costco parking lot. The right thing would be to continue to let people operate in this way.”

Hildebrandt said he understood police would be taking the videotaped recordings to the Crown’s office Monday to determine if charges should be laid.

Aylmer police Chief Zvonko Horvat said last week his officers would lay charges under an Ontario emergency order imposed to slow the spread of COVID-19 if the Church of God held the drive-in service, as it has done twice this month.

But The Alberta-based Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms says police don’t have the right to ban drive-in services.

“The Charter of Rights isn’t suspended just because we have an emergency facing our society. There are measures that are going to be justifiable that do restrict the freedoms we normally have,” Lisa Bildy of the justice centre said in an interview Sunday. “But there is a balancing act that has to happen and there always has to be a minimal impairment of those fundamental freedoms.”

The Church of God and other churches across Canada have come with solutions that allow congregations to worship together safely, said Bildy, a London lawyer.

“They’re not doing anything to jeopardize anybody’s health. I think there should be some accommodation from the authorities as well,” she said. “Parking lots all over the community are filled with people. If it’s in front of a store, it’s fine, but put it in front of a church and somehow it now becomes a problem.”

Bildy said she was waiting to see what Aylmer police would do before considering next steps.

Aylmer police were notified about both of the previous services and sent officers to monitor the gatherings, Hildebrandt said in an earlier interview.

A constable confirmed that officers witnessing the service last Sunday saw no violations, Hildebrandt said.

But a photograph of the church’s parking lot full of cars was posted on Facebook, generating negative comments to police, Hildebrandt said.

Individuals caught breaking Ontario’s emergency orders could get slapped with a $750 ticket. In more serious cases involving a court summons, convictions carry a maximum fine of $100,000 and up to one year in jail.

The fine increases to $500,000 for company directors and $10 million for corporations.

Hildebrandt said he has tried working with police, offering to pay officers to watch the service if that’s necessary to ensure safety measures are followed.

“I have tried every which way. But the chief, I would say he is on the wrong side of history. This morning this was the safest parking lot as far as COVID-19, this was the safest parking lot in town, by far.”

About 300 metres down the road from the church, people are allowed to park at the liquor store, get out and buy alcohol without any legal trouble, Hildebrandt said.

“We absolutely do not want to cause unnecessary disturbances in Aylmer. I don’t want to cause trouble. But I saw no way around it,” Hildebrandt said. “I know we were with God’s blessings this morning. We plan to be here next Sunday, the Lord willing.”

As reported by the London Free Press, April 26, 2020:



As reported by David Menzies of Rebel News, April 28, 2020:



Pastor Hildebrandt was interviewed by Andrew Lawton of True North, April 29, 2020:



Fortunately, Pastor Hildebrandt's determination to stand up to police bullying was rewarded, as reported by Mr. Menzies, May 2, 2020:



The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms issued the following press release on May 2, 2020 (links in original):

AYLMER: The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (jccf.ca) today announced that it will file a Charter challenge against the Ontario government, on behalf of the Church of God in Aylmer, Ontario, for its infringement of the church’s freedom of peaceful assembly. Ontario authorities have threatened to fine the church despite its use of strict “social distancing” measures that eliminate any discernible risk to public health during their “drive-in” church services where people stay inside parked vehicles.

The Church of God, like other congregations across the country, has been prevented from holding in-person services, but found a creative and safe way to bring parishioners back together for worship while ensuring member and public safety. A drive-in service was held for the last three Sundays in their church parking lot, with congregants remaining in their vehicles with the windows up, listening to the service on the radio. Only members of the worship team, no greater than five in number, are permitted outside of their vehicles, and they also follow strict physical distancing guidelines.

Despite successfully conducting two such services with the approval of police, complaints were made by people who saw a photo of the Aylmer Church of God parking lot, and mistakenly assumed that the congregants were inside the building. The Aylmer Police Chief then threatened, on April 20, that any further services would be considered a breach of the law and subject to stiff penalties. Penalties could include fines of $750 to $100,000 and up to one year in jail.

The church held its third drive-in service on April 26, again abiding by all social distancing and public health protection measures. Police attended on the church’s private property, videotaping all of the vehicles and maintaining an ominous presence.

Although the provincial Crown Attorney declined to proceed with charges on this occasion, the Aylmer Police Chief has declared that this was an opportunity to “educate” the congregation, and that police investigation could again follow if complaints are received.

The Province’s Order under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act prohibits gatherings of more than five people, including for the purposes of conducting religious services, rites or ceremonies. Despite the fact that many larger stores and businesses remain open, with varying degrees of success in limiting physical contact between customers, churches and other religious centres have been singled out and effectively closed.

The Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act, like all laws in this country, must comply with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which guarantees citizens that the government will not infringe their freedoms of peaceful assembly and religion, among other fundamental freedoms. The onus is on government, not citizens, to show that the violation of Charter freedoms is “demonstrably justified.” Where there is a pressing and substantial concern, such as a declared public health emergency, reasonable restrictions may be imposed, but governments are required to violate Charter rights and freedoms as little as possible, only to the extent truly necessary to protect public health.

The Government of Ontario has had ample time to clarify its Order to ensure that it is not overly broad, and that it does not arbitrarily target religious groups. Recently, the Saskatchewan Public Health Authority reversed its ban on drive-in church services, after receiving a legal warning letter from the Justice Centre.

The Ontario government, copied on a letter from the Justice Centre to the Aylmer Police Chief last week, has failed to respond, leaving the church with no option but to commence legal proceedings.

“For many religious communities, coming together to worship is an important part of their faith, and while not perfect, solutions such as drive-in services allow them to exercise their fundamental freedoms of peaceful assembly and religion while still respecting the government’s orders to protect public health,” says Justice Centre lawyer Lisa Bildy.

“The measures taken by the Church provide much more safety to public health than long lineups of people waiting to get into the liquor store, or sitting in their vehicles bumper to bumper at the Tim Horton’s drive-thru – all permitted activities,” adds Bildy. “On Sunday mornings, the Church of God has the safest parking lot in town.”

“Citizens across the country are attempting, in a good-natured manner, to comply with the extraordinarily restrictive measures which have been imposed. The Covid-19 outbreak, however, does not suspend the exercise of the Charter. The restriction on religious gatherings, in which people exclusively occupy their personal vehicles on a parking lot while worshipping, is irrational, unnecessary, and not a minimal impairment of Charter rights,” concludes Bildy.

The Justice Centre is presently preparing court documents on behalf of the Church.

Pastor Hildebrandt's church held another drive-in service on May 3, 2020 without incident. As reported by Mr. Menzies, May 4, 2020:



I don't know if all those who showed up were regular attenders of that church, but I suspect that many were Christians from other churches who went to express solidarity with the church and pastor. The willingness of at least some Canadian Christians to stand up for their God-given rights and refuse to cave in to bullies is a positive development; let's pray that more Christians will have the courage to defend their freedom.