| Community News – March 19, 2021: BC court maintains prohibition on in-person religious services; Alberta Pastor Coates released; Bill C6 has little support among Canadians BC Supreme Court strikes down Orders restricting outdoor protests, but maintains prohibition on in-person religious services VANCOUVER: The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms is pleased with the decision of Chief Justice Christopher Hinkson of the Supreme Court of British Columbia to strike down Public Health Orders banning outdoor protests but is disappointed in the Court’s dismissal of the challenge to the BC Government’s prohibition on in-person religious gatherings. Regarding the Applicant churches, Chief Justice Hinkson found that Dr. Henry’s Orders infringe the fundamental freedoms of religion, speech, assembly and association, but ruled that the infringements are justified. The Chief Justice found that Dr. Henry was owed deference to her decision-making and was not required to be correct in making her orders but only needed to have acted in a reasonable range of alternatives. The Justice Centre is reviewing the decision, which comes just two weeks after arguments concluded in a four-day hearing, held in Vancouver on March 1-3 and March 5, 2021. On January 8, 2021, the Justice Centre filed a constitutional challenge on behalf of three churches and four individuals against restrictions on public protest and the prohibition on in-person worship services in Public Health Orders issued by BC Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry. In response, the BC government filed an injunction application, targeting the three churches who filed the court challenge. On February 17, the Court denied the government’s request for an injunction. The BC churches challenging the Provincial Health Orders assert that they have gone to extraordinary lengths to comply with onerous health guidelines, including limiting attendance to no more than 50 persons, pre-registering attendees, rearranging seating to ensure physical distancing, providing hand sanitizer and masks, and enhancing cleaning and sanitizing procedures. Some of these churches’ members cannot access online services, and for many in these faith communities, gathering in-person is essential to their spiritual and emotional well-being. Affidavits have been filed attesting to the negative effect prohibiting in-person gatherings has had on individuals, including loneliness, depression, anxiety and fear. Although support groups are permitted to meet, the Dr. Henry’s Orders prohibit faith communities from gathering for any “worship or other religious service”. To justify their order for an injunction, the BC government cited 180 purported Covid cases associated with religious gatherings in the province. To date, there have been nearly 90,000 COVID cases in BC. The Justice Centre provided the Court with over 1000 pages of expert evidence, including sworn testimony from an experienced and credentialed Epidemiologist and former Chief Provincial Medical Officer of Health, as well as from an Infectious Disease Specialist. The BC government allows hundreds of people to gather at any given time in a single big box store. Liquor stores and marijuana stores remain open. The government allows residents to gather and seat six at a table at bars and restaurants. But to members of faith communities, Dr. Bonnie Henry has stated: “Do not attend a service at a church, synagogue, mosque, gurdwara, temple, or other places of worship”. Citizens who have gathered to peacefully protest the devastating impact of Covid lockdowns have also been ticketed for the exercise of their right to peaceful assembly, expression and association—as protected by sections 2(b), (c), and (d) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms—as a result of Dr. Henry’s Orders. Tickets have also been issued to churches who have gathered in accordance with their sincerely-held religious beliefs. Since November 19, 2020, in-person worship services—which are protected by the freedom of religion under section 2(a) of the Charter—have been prohibited entirely, regardless of the extra safety measures implemented by faith communities. The Petition filed with the Court challenged the Orders on the basis that they unjustifiably violate the rights and freedoms of BC residents as protected by the Charter, and are thus unconstitutional. “Freedom of conscience and religion” and “freedom of peaceful assembly” are two of the fundamental rights protected by section 2 of the Charter. “We are pleased with the Court’s decision upholding the Charterrights of BC residents to protest but are disappointed that the challenge to the prohibition on in-person religious worship was dismissed,” states Paul Jaffe, who appeared for the Justice Centre. “We will be discussing this decision with our clients, including an appeal.” Pastor James Coates to be released from jail as Crown withdraws charges Edmonton: The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms recently announced that Crown Prosecutors have agreed to withdraw all but one of the Public Health Act offences that Pastor James Coates has been charged with. The Justice Centre expects Pastor Coates will be released from jail in the coming days, without any conditions, pending his May 3-5 trial in Provincial Court. The Justice Centre will defend Pastor Coates on one remaining charge of violating an Order of the Chief Medical Officer of Health by challenging the lawfulness of the public health order that he is charged with violating. The Pastor of Grace Life Church near Edmonton has been incarcerated in the Edmonton Remand Centre for a month, since February 16. It is expected that Pastor Coates could be released from jail as early as Friday, March 19. Grace Life is a church of nearly 400 congregants who have exercised their Charter rights and freedoms normally since July of 2020, including their freedoms of assembly, association, expression, religion and conscience. Not one congregant has been lost to Covid, but, sadly, a congregant was lost to the Alberta Government lockdown in the first week of February when he died prematurely because he couldn’t get the cancer treatment he needed due to government lockdown restrictions. Pastor Coates and Grace Life Church are represented by the Justice Centre in respect of tickets and court summons. The Pastor and his church have been taken to court by Alberta Health Services (AHS) and ordered to close by AHS for holding regular church services and refusing to turn congregants away. The Justice Centre sent a letter to Premier Jason Kenney on February 17, 2021, challenging him to assume responsibility for protecting the Charter rights and freedoms of Albertans, and to cease allowing an unelected health official, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, to violate rights and freedoms with health orders that are not reviewed by, or approved by, the elected Members of the Legislative Assembly. Pastor Coates has been jailed in the Edmonton Remand Centre since February 16, after he refused to sign a bail condition that required him to effectively promise to stop exercising his Charter freedoms of conscience, religion, expression, association and peaceful assembly. On Sunday, February 7, after the morning worship service, two RCMP officers met with Pastor Coates and a few others in his office at the Church and told Pastor Coates that he was under arrest. The officers imposed a condition on the Pastor that he only hold church if he followed all the public health restrictions, such as permitting only 15% of his congregants to attend a Sunday morning worship service. Pastor Coates explained to the officers that he could not agree to abide by Charter-violating public health orders that prevent him from fulfilling his duty as a minister to lead his congregation in worship. As Pastor Coates did not agree to the condition imposed on him, RCMP should have taken him before a Justice of the Peace, but they did not and, instead, left the church. Pastor Coates again held church on Sunday February 14. On Monday, February 15, the RCMP asked Pastor Coates to attend at the RCMP station. When Pastor Coates arrived, the RCMP charged him with multiple Public Health Act offences and a criminal offence related to the bail condition imposed on February 7. A bail hearing took place on Tuesday, February 16. Crown Prosecutor Karen Thorsrud asked the court to keep Pastor Coates in jail until he could appear for trial. A Justice of the Peace ordered Pastor Coates released on bail on the condition that he only hold church if he followed all the public health restrictions. Pastor Coates could not, in good conscience, agree to such a Charter rights-violating condition of release and was therefore detained at the Edmonton Remand Centre. Crown prosecutors have now agreed that Pastor Coates can be released without conditions and will withdraw all but one of the Public Health Act charges against him. Prosecutors have also agreed to withdraw the criminal charge in connection with the condition imposed by RCMP on February 7, and instead have charged Pastor Coates $100 for breaching the condition, which Pastor Coates has agreed to pay. The single charge remaining has not been withdrawn, as the Justice Centre and Pastor Coates want the matter heard at trial, to determine the constitutionality of the public health order that churches only hold worship services at 15% capacity, and to compel the government to produce scientific evidence that might support these violations of Charter freedoms. The trial is scheduled to take place beginning on May 3, 2021. “The condition that Pastor Coates effectively stop doing his job as a pastor by adhering to unscientific and unconstitutional public health restrictions should never have been imposed on him by the RCMP, or by the Court. We are hopeful that he will finally be released from jail without conditions, and can resume pastoring Grace Life church,” states Justice Centre president John Carpay. “We look forward to appearing in court in May and demanding the government provide evidence that public health restrictions that violate the freedoms of religion, peaceful assembly, expression and association are scientific and are justifiable in a free and democratic country,” concludes Carpay. New poll shows vast majority of Canadians support the right of adults to get the sexual counseling of their choice, counseling likely banned by “conversion therapy” legislation, Canadians also support counseling options for minors who are considering gender transitioning The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms released the results of a Nanos National Survey showing that 91% of Canadians agree (78%) or somewhat agree (13%) that adults should have the right to get the sexuality counselling of their choice, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. This strong support stands in contrast to the approach taken by several Canadian municipal governments and even the Federal Government. “Conversion therapy” legislation in Canada, unlike most other “conversion therapy” bans in the world, prevent even consenting adults from getting the counseling options of their choice. In introducing Bill C-6, the federal conversion therapy ban, Justice Minister David Lametti admitted that the ban would prevent consenting LGBTQ adults from being able to pay for counseling available to other Canadians: “We also recognize that criminalizing profiting from conversion therapy means that consenting adults would be prevented from accessing conversion therapy unless it is available free of charge.” (1) “Banning coercive and abusive practices commonly associated with the term ‘conversion therapy’ would not be controversial,” states Marty Moore, staff lawyer with the Justice Centre. “Deceptively labeled ‘conversion therapy’ bans, including municipal bylaws and the federal Bill C-6, will violate the constitutional rights of LGBTQ persons by restricting them accessing the same kind of counselling heterosexual and non-transgender Canadians access. These poll numbers show Canadians do not support those restrictions.” For example, Calgarians Emmanuel Sanchez and Jose Ruba called several counseling agencies in Calgary to find help to “reduce non-heterosexual behaviour or attraction” such as gay pornography use. Calgary’s by-law, like many Canadian by-laws, explicitly bans that kind of counseling under “conversion therapy” legislation. “We found that counselors in the city either didn’t understand that the by-law covered this kind of counseling or refused to offer support to reduce ‘non-heterosexual’ behaviour,” said Mr. Ruba. “This is discrimination and something clearly most Canadians do not support.” The Nanos poll also shows support for the availability of counseling options for minor children who are considering a gender transition, including taking a “wait and see” approach (48% agree, 24% somewhat agree). That kind of counseling would also be threatened by Bill C-6, the federal government’s proposed conversion therapy ban. “Rachel”, a young woman who was born female but socially transitioned to male as a minor, is grateful that she had counseling options available to her and the support of her parents. Along with her mother, she states: “Our experience taught us that what causes gender dysphoria is different for each person. The government should respect these differences and not ban counseling options.” The poll, conducted February 28 to March 4, 2021, made the following key findings: · Nine in ten Canadians agree (78%) or somewhat agree (13%) that consenting adults should be free to get the sexuality counselling of their choice, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, and this is consistent across regions, age and gender. · Canadians are more likely to say they are uncomfortable (33%) or somewhat uncomfortable (14%) with the government making it illegal to provide counselling for gay individuals to reduce unwanted sexual behaviour while continuing to allow straight people to access those same services (25% comfortable; nine per cent somewhat comfortab · Canadians are divided overall on whether counselling in various scenarios related to gender identity, sexuality and sexual behaviour for minors should be legal or illegal,with about one third of Canadians consistently saying they are unsure. · · About seven in ten Canadians agree or somewhat agree there should be strict requirements for healthcare professionals to assess whether it’s in a young person’s best interests to irreversibly alter their body if it doesn’t match their gender identity and that counselling services with a ‘wait and see’ approach should be available to minors thinking about changing their bodies through drug treatments. · “Many Canadians have found benefit from support and counselling which politicians are seeking to ban and even criminalize,” continues Mr. Moore. “Politicians should listen to the will of Canadians and respect the Charterrights of Canadians to freely choose the support they want.” |
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