The Provincial Court of British Columbia decided a pastor can proceed with an application to dismiss the prosecution against him for allegedly holding an in-person worship service during COVID-19. .“The evidence thus far presented in this matter shows that the Public Health Officer (PHO) responded promptly to one religious community’s requests for accommodation with permission to meet in person, while simply ignoring similar requests from other faith communities,” said Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) Litigation Director Marty Moore in a Tuesday press release. .“When government actors violate Charter freedoms of conscience and religion but then consider respecting the rights of only some Canadians, the rule of law is undermined.” .BC Crown attorneys had sought to summarily dismiss the application, but Judge Andrea Ormiston found there is “some evidence that the PHO preferred some faith groups over others.” .The JCCF said Free Reformed Church pastor John Koopman, who has been charged with violating COVID-19 restrictions, filed an abuse of process application to the Provincial Court of BC..Koopman alleged the discriminatory actions of the PHO made the continuation of his prosecution offensive to societal notions of fair play and decency and had brought the administration of justice into disrepute. .BC PHO Dr. Bonnie Henry prohibited in-person worship services in 2020, but she allowed other indoor settings such as bars, restaurants, gyms and salons to remain open. Because of its religious convictions to gather for worship in person, the Free Reformed Church opened its doors and complied with COVID-19 restrictions. .Koopman was among the heads of three Fraser Valley churches Upper Fraser Valley RCMP charged with 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,” 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.”.The three churches filed a constitutional challenge to the prohibition of in-person worship services in 2021. After filing the challenge, Koopman and others submitted a request to gather for in-person worship services, but their request received no response for several weeks. .At the same time, the JCCF said Henry had been responding within one or two days to requests made on behalf of Orthodox Jewish synagogues, granting permission for them to meet in person. .Henry granted the churches court-limited permission to gather outdoors two days before the court heard the constitutional challenge, claiming that gathering indoors was too risky. She had granted all Orthodox Jewish synagogues permission to gather indoors earlier that same week. .BC Supreme Court Chief Justice Christopher Hinkson decided to dismiss the constitutional challenge because she had given them permission to gather outdoors. The BC Court of Appeal upheld Hinkson’s decision, and the Supreme Court of Canada denied leave to appeal. .The Supreme Court decided to not hear the case of three BC churches that were challenging the prohibition of in-person religious services imposed by the provincial government on August 10. .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.” .The JCCF acknowledged Koopman and other churches and pastors were being prosecuted by the Crown in the Provincial Court of BC. He was found guilty of hosting an event that violated COVID-19 gathering limits in November. .He submitted an application alleging the Crown’s prosecution against him constituted an abuse of process in April. The Crown argued Henry and Deputy PHO Dr. Brian Emerson should not be subpoenaed as witnesses in the case. .Ormiston heard arguments on whether the abuse of process application could proceed to an evidentiary hearing in May. .She denied the Crown’s application to dismiss his case on September 6. Under the circumstances, she said it was not frivolous to think his continued prosecution undermined the integrity of the judicial process. .Nonetheless, Ormiston did deny Koopman’s request to subpoena Henry and Emerson as witnesses on his application, ruling they are protected from having to provide evidence under the doctrines of deliberative secrecy and solicitor-client privilege. .“Prosecuting a pastor for holding in-person services when he could not effectively access the same permission for in-person services the PHO had granted to a different religious community undermines the integrity of the judicial process,” said Moore.
