Two convictions against Pastor John Koopman for attending in-person worship services during COVID-19 lockdowns have been vacated by the Provincial Court of British Columbia.Pastor Koopman, who serves the Free Reformed Church in Chilliwack, was charged for attending services in 2020 and 2021 when provincial health orders under Dr. Bonnie Henry banned in-person religious worship. During the same period, bars, restaurants, gyms, salons, and other secular businesses were allowed to operate.On Thursday, Justice Andrea Ormiston corrected the court record after the Crown acknowledged that two tickets issued against Pastor Koopman had already been voided by the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia under section 18 of the Offence Act. .Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms lawyer Marty Moore criticized the B.C. government for failing to acknowledge the broader injustice of banning worship services entirely.“Sadly, we have yet to see Dr. Henry and the BC government take responsibility for the harm they caused by imposing unreasonable and overbroad COVID mandates and restrictions on British Columbians’ fundamental freedoms and liberty,” Moore said.Pastor Koopman welcomed the correction but called for broader accountability. “The Crown’s acknowledgement of their error is welcomed. Dr. Henry and the government should carefully evaluate their entire approach, for this is only one of many errors which were made, the greatest of which is the restriction of the public worship of our God,” he said.
