B.C. church attendance ban, fines facing legal challenges

Participating in a worship service in B.C. has been contrary to public health orders since Nov. 19 and can lead to a $2,300 fine. A number of British Columbian worshippers have been on the receiving end of those tickets, some for holding religious services, others for protesting the orders without collecting names and numbers of all fellow protesters.

Now the Calgary-based Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms says it will challenge 16 tickets issued to individuals and church communities in court. The JCCF also filed a petition in B.C. Supreme Court Jan. 7 arguing  current health orders “unjustifiably infringe the rights and freedoms” of B.C. residents under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

“COVID-19 does not cancel Canadians’ constitutional rights,” said JCCF staff lawyer Marty Moore in a press release Jan. 8.

“The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects the rights of citizens to protest and to gather for religious worship and puts the onus on government to show that any infringement of Charter freedoms is justified in the circumstances.”

Individuals have received “significant fines” for “responsibly exercising their fundamental Charter rights and freedoms,” he said.

The petition describes how one individual is facing a $2,300 ticket for helping to organize a handful of small outdoor protests against “unnecessary” and “draconian” government restrictions. RCMP had been informed of the events before they took place and measures were taken to encourage physical distancing, keep the size of the crowd below 50 participants, and avoid violence or vandalism. The person did not collect contact information for participants, arguing that at a protest in open public space with people coming and going it is not possible to do so, yet police issued a $2,300 ticket and said the person could face additional fines of $2,300 each for protests like this again.

The churches JCCF is representing are Free Grace Baptist Church, Free Reformed Church of Chilliwack, Immanuel Covenant Reformed Church, Kelowna Harvest Fellowship, Riverside Calvary Chapel, Valley Heights Community Church, and 100 Mile House Baptist Church. No Catholic churches in the Archdiocese of Vancouver have received tickets or been connected to COVID-19 outbreaks.

Just before Christmas, the B.C. Civil Liberties Association and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association also aired their concerns about the suspension of in-person worship by government. In a Dec. 15 letter, they asked provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix to explain their treatment of churches.

“Individuals engage in in-person worship services for a variety of reasons, but to compare these services to a night at the movies or the theatre does a disservice to this constitutional right,” the organizations wrote “For many, worshipping as part of a community is essential to their mental and spiritual health and well-being..”

The letter said, “Freedom of religion is a constitutionally protected right, under section 2(a) of the Charter, such that restrictions placed upon its exercise must be reasonable and demonstrably justified. On its face, the current B.C. order does not appear to meet these criteria.”

This debate is also playing out across the country. Toronto International Celebration Church is taking Ontario’s restrictions to court, saying limiting religious gatherings to 10 people is unconstitutional, while two churches in Alberta have made similar claims. In Manitoba, at least one church faced a hefty fine for hosting a drive-in worship service against health orders. Drive-in services have since been permitted in that province.

In recent weeks pandemic-related restrictions on churches have been extended or increased in Canada.

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