Charges have been dropped against several Canadian pastors accused of violating public health orders by conducting religious services during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A judge recently dismissed contempt charges against Pastor Phillip James Hutchings and his associates at His Tabernacle Family Church in Saint John, New Brunswick.
Prosecutors also dropped charges against Pastor Aaron Rock of Harvest Bible Church in Windsor, Ontario, last week.
Chief Justice Tracey DeWare of the King’s Bench Court dismissed a motion to hold Hutchings and church director Cody Butler in contempt for holding services in a commercial tent in the fall of 2021, when Indoor gatherings have been banned in New Brunswick, according to a February statement. .2 sentence.
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Trucks block a section of Metcalfe Street during a “Freedom Convoy” demonstration in downtown Ottawa, Canada, on February 10, 2022. (David Kawai/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The church erected the tent in response to a fine in October 2021 for holding indoor gatherings, according to the ruling.
Prosecutors had argued that the tent, whose flaps were lowered during cold weather, was an “indoor public space” and that pastors did not ensure enough that all parishioners were vaccinated.
DeWare said he could not determine beyond a reasonable doubt that the tent the Hutchings church was using for services “clearly and unequivocally” constituted an indoor gathering as defined by the then-current provincial health order.
“Clearly, a commercial tent with four upturned sidewalls cannot be considered an ‘enclosed space’ or ‘interior public space’ by any interpretation given to the definition,” DeWare wrote. “Arguably, the commercial tent with four side walls down could fall within the parameters of a ‘closed space.'”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a press conference during the trucker protests on January 31, 2022. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“However, as I write this decision, it is not clear to me when that occurs, and the applicant’s attorney was unable to provide a clear answer to the question.”
“[An] An alternate and reasonable view may be that Defendants moved their religious services to the marquee in an attempt to circumvent restrictions on ‘indoor public space’ and thereby avoid breach of the Mandatory Order,” it ruled. DeWare.
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Defense attorney Jonathan Martin described the ruling as “a victory for due process and also a victory for government accountability over the drafting of vague regulations that provide unlimited prosecutorial discretion,” according to The Canadian Press.
Last Monday, Crown prosecutors also dropped two charges against Rock, who was the first pastor charged with violating Ontario’s lockdown order by holding services that exceeded the 10-person limit, according to The Windsor Star.
Prosecutors dropped two charges last week against Pastor Aaron Rock of Harvest Bible Church in Windsor, Ontario. (Google Maps)
“I was a little surprised, pleasantly surprised,” Rock told the outlet of the dropped charges, each of which carried up to a year in prison and six-figure fines. “I’ve never been in trouble with the law, it was kind of surreal.”
Rock said he’s not against vaccines or public health restrictions, but believes COVID-19 was “grossly overblown” and that the government’s response is “silly and very destructive.”
“I was a little surprised, pleasantly surprised. I’ve never been in trouble with the law, it was a little surreal.”
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The pastors’ legal victories come after similar charges were dropped against other Canadian clergy.
Pastor Tim Stephens was acquitted in November after he was arrested twice in 2021 because his Calgary church continued to rally in defiance of the government. His second arrest came after a police helicopter reportedly found his church meeting outside of him.
Pastor Tim Stephens of Fairview Baptist Church in Calgary, Alberta, was cleared of public health-related charges last November after being arrested twice in 2021. (Justice Center for Constitutional Freedoms)
Pastor Artur Pawlowski of the Cave of Adullam Congregation in Calgary, Alberta, recently explained to Fox News Digital that he faces up to a decade in prison if convicted on charges related to leading a church service for truckers who blocked the US border. and Canada at Coutts last year.
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Following a two-day trial earlier this month, the judge presiding over Pawlowski’s case is scheduled to issue his decision in March.
