Canadian Church Once Facing $60M in COVID Fines See Charges ‘Stayed,’ Still Must Pay $$$
(LifeSiteNews) — Pastors for Trinity Bible Chapel, a large Christian church that had its doors closed by health officials in 2021 for breaking COVID rules, had charges brought against them for protesting COVID mandates “stayed,” but the church is still on the hook for thousands of dollars in fines for violating gathering restrictions.
“This outcome is a reflection of Ontario Courts’ failure to protect and uphold religious freedom. My clients and I strongly disagree with the Courts’ decisions with respect to their Charter protections but accept that the decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal is binding on them,” said attorney Chris Fleury, according to a press release from the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF).
“My clients are happy to finally put these tickets and events behind them, and to do so in a way that ends the prosecution of other religious leaders who were ticketed in the Kitchener-Waterloo jurisdiction.”
The JCCF noted that COVID-era charges against eight pastors from Trinity Bible Chapel in Waterloo have now been “resolved” against them.
The JCCF, who helped represent the church along with its religious leaders, stated that Trinity Bible still must pay about $38,800, for violating gathering restriction limitations imposed by the Reopening Ontario Act, which was in place from late 2020 to 2022. During the Acts’ most restrictive phase, church services were limited to 10 people…to continue reading click here.
This article was written by Anthony Murdoch and published at Lifesite News. Title changed by Protestia
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The Covid crisis exposed how fragile freedoms are even in supposedly free societies such as Canada and the US – a stark reminder of the evil in the heart of man and his desire to inflict his will on others.