Free Reformed Church pastor John Koopman has challenged the prosecution against him after British Columbia Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry granted preferential treatment to some faith groups over others during the COVID-19 pandemic. “The actions of the Provincial Health Officer toward people of faith in British Columbia during COVID were frankly shameful,” said Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) Litigation Director Marty Moore in a Monday press release. “She categorically prohibited in-person gatherings for worship, indoor or outdoors and even brought an injunction application seeking to have pastors or parishioners arrested for gathering for worship.” Free Reformed Church was among the three Fraser Valley churches the Upper Fraser Valley RCMP charged for holding in-person services against BC’s COVID-19 restrictions in 2020. READ MORE: Three BC church reps charged $18,000 for holding services banned under COVID rules“On the mornings of December 6 and 13, Chilliwack RCMP responded to reports of groups of people gathering at three separate churches contrary to the existing PHO (Public Health Office),” said Upper Fraser Valley RCMP Cpl. Mike Rail. “As officers investigated the complaints, police worked closely with Provincial, Regional Health officials and the BC Prosecution Service in the education and enforcement of current COVID-19 health regulations to attain the compliance of the congregations.”While Koopman was charged for violating COVID-19 restrictions on in-person worship services, the JCCF said Henry allowed some Orthodox Jewish synagogues to gather. In a hearing that runs until Thursday at the Abbotsford Law Courts, it said he will be seeking records of the accommodation requests Henry received and how she handled them and records of the communications she had with BC politicians about prohibiting in-person worship services. Henry prohibited in-person worship services while allowing bars, restaurants, gyms and salons to remain open. Based on its religious convictions for worship in person, the Free Reformed Church opened its doors in 2020 and 2021 and complied with COVID-19 restrictions about masks, handwashing and social distancing. In 2021, it teamed up with two other churches to file a constitutional challenge to the prohibition on in-person worship services. After filing the challenge, he and other people submitted an accommodation request to gather for in-person worship services, but it received no response for several weeks. At the same time, Henry had been responding within one or two days to requests from Orthodox synagogues, granting them permission to meet in person. Two business days before the constitutional challenge went to court, she granted the churches limited permission to gather outdoors, but declined to let them indoors because it was too risky. However, she had granted all Orthodox synagogues in BC permission to gather indoors. In 2021, BC Supreme Court Chief Justice Christopher Hinkson dismissed the constitutional challenge because she granted permission for them to meet outdoors. The BC Court of Appeal upheld the decision. The Supreme Court of Canada decided in August to not hear the case of the three BC churches challenging the prohibition of in-person religious services imposed by the provincial government. READ MORE: Supreme Court won't hear appeal for BC’s in-person worship ban“We are disappointed that the Supreme Court of Canada has declined our application for leave to appeal in this matter,” said Moore. “Errors such as imposing on citizens the burden to show that government violations of their rights were unreasonable, contrary to the language of Section 1 of the Charter, will need to be corrected in latter cases.” Koopman and the other pastors and churches have been prosecuted by Crown attorneys in the BC Provincial Courts. In 2022, he was found guilty of hosting an in-person worship service in 2020. He submitted an application to the BC Provincial Courts in April, alleging the discriminatory actions against him by Henry made the prosecution offensive to societal notions of fair play and decency and brought the administration of justice into disrepute. In response, the Crown argued the abuse of process application should not proceed to an evidentiary hearing and Henry and BC Deputy Provincial Health Officer Dr. Brian Emerson should not be subpoenaed as witnesses in the case. BC Provincial Court Judge Andrea Ormiston heard arguments about whether the abuse of process application could proceed to an evidentiary hearing in May. Ormiston denied the Crown’s application to dismiss his abuse of process application in September because there was “some evidence that the PHO preferred some faith groups over others.” During this time, Moore said Henry was providing permission for select religious groups to meet for worship while ignoring requests from other ones. In this context, he said he believes the prosecutions “‘offend societal notions of fair play and decency and bring the administration of justice into disrepute,’ and that, consequently, these prosecutions should be stayed.” “The court and the public deserve to see the evidence Pastor Koopman is seeking from the PHO on whether accommodation requests were granted based on science or other factors and the extent to which politics played a role,” he said.
Free Reformed Church pastor John Koopman has challenged the prosecution against him after British Columbia Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry granted preferential treatment to some faith groups over others during the COVID-19 pandemic. “The actions of the Provincial Health Officer toward people of faith in British Columbia during COVID were frankly shameful,” said Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) Litigation Director Marty Moore in a Monday press release. “She categorically prohibited in-person gatherings for worship, indoor or outdoors and even brought an injunction application seeking to have pastors or parishioners arrested for gathering for worship.” Free Reformed Church was among the three Fraser Valley churches the Upper Fraser Valley RCMP charged for holding in-person services against BC’s COVID-19 restrictions in 2020. READ MORE: Three BC church reps charged $18,000 for holding services banned under COVID rules“On the mornings of December 6 and 13, Chilliwack RCMP responded to reports of groups of people gathering at three separate churches contrary to the existing PHO (Public Health Office),” said Upper Fraser Valley RCMP Cpl. Mike Rail. “As officers investigated the complaints, police worked closely with Provincial, Regional Health officials and the BC Prosecution Service in the education and enforcement of current COVID-19 health regulations to attain the compliance of the congregations.”While Koopman was charged for violating COVID-19 restrictions on in-person worship services, the JCCF said Henry allowed some Orthodox Jewish synagogues to gather. In a hearing that runs until Thursday at the Abbotsford Law Courts, it said he will be seeking records of the accommodation requests Henry received and how she handled them and records of the communications she had with BC politicians about prohibiting in-person worship services. Henry prohibited in-person worship services while allowing bars, restaurants, gyms and salons to remain open. Based on its religious convictions for worship in person, the Free Reformed Church opened its doors in 2020 and 2021 and complied with COVID-19 restrictions about masks, handwashing and social distancing. In 2021, it teamed up with two other churches to file a constitutional challenge to the prohibition on in-person worship services. After filing the challenge, he and other people submitted an accommodation request to gather for in-person worship services, but it received no response for several weeks. At the same time, Henry had been responding within one or two days to requests from Orthodox synagogues, granting them permission to meet in person. Two business days before the constitutional challenge went to court, she granted the churches limited permission to gather outdoors, but declined to let them indoors because it was too risky. However, she had granted all Orthodox synagogues in BC permission to gather indoors. In 2021, BC Supreme Court Chief Justice Christopher Hinkson dismissed the constitutional challenge because she granted permission for them to meet outdoors. The BC Court of Appeal upheld the decision. The Supreme Court of Canada decided in August to not hear the case of the three BC churches challenging the prohibition of in-person religious services imposed by the provincial government. READ MORE: Supreme Court won't hear appeal for BC’s in-person worship ban“We are disappointed that the Supreme Court of Canada has declined our application for leave to appeal in this matter,” said Moore. “Errors such as imposing on citizens the burden to show that government violations of their rights were unreasonable, contrary to the language of Section 1 of the Charter, will need to be corrected in latter cases.” Koopman and the other pastors and churches have been prosecuted by Crown attorneys in the BC Provincial Courts. In 2022, he was found guilty of hosting an in-person worship service in 2020. He submitted an application to the BC Provincial Courts in April, alleging the discriminatory actions against him by Henry made the prosecution offensive to societal notions of fair play and decency and brought the administration of justice into disrepute. In response, the Crown argued the abuse of process application should not proceed to an evidentiary hearing and Henry and BC Deputy Provincial Health Officer Dr. Brian Emerson should not be subpoenaed as witnesses in the case. BC Provincial Court Judge Andrea Ormiston heard arguments about whether the abuse of process application could proceed to an evidentiary hearing in May. Ormiston denied the Crown’s application to dismiss his abuse of process application in September because there was “some evidence that the PHO preferred some faith groups over others.” During this time, Moore said Henry was providing permission for select religious groups to meet for worship while ignoring requests from other ones. In this context, he said he believes the prosecutions “‘offend societal notions of fair play and decency and bring the administration of justice into disrepute,’ and that, consequently, these prosecutions should be stayed.” “The court and the public deserve to see the evidence Pastor Koopman is seeking from the PHO on whether accommodation requests were granted based on science or other factors and the extent to which politics played a role,” he said.
