Pastor Tracy Fortin and Church in the Vine of Edmonton were acquitted Monday by the Court of Appeal of Alberta..They were fined $80,000 for three obstruction convictions under the Public Health Act for refusing COVID-19 health inspections during religious services..The acquittals were entered by the appellate court on the consent of the parties after the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service conceded that the convictions could not stand because of the Ingram decision..In that decision, the Court of King’s Bench declared a number of public health orders ultra vires (of no effect) on the ground that they were improperly made by the provincial cabinet as opposed to the Chief Medical Officer of Health..The church had been fined $50,000 plus a 20% victim surcharge of $10,000, while Tracey Fortin was fined $15,000. Such fines have nullified hanks to the legal work of the The Democracy Fund..“The prosecutor did the right thing in conceding the acquittals,” said TDF litigation director, Alan Honner..“An obstruction conviction should not stand where the underlying investigation was based on an invalid law.”.TDF retained James Kitchen to defend Pastor Fortin and the church gainst the charges..While the initial trial and a subsequent appeal to the Court of King’s Bench were both unsuccessful, Kitchen sought leave to appeal to the Court of Appeal of Alberta, which was granted in May 2023..“These acquittals would never have happened without the persistence of the pastor and her legal team,” said Honner..“We are very pleased with the final outcome.”.The appellants had previously been convicted on May 4, 2022 for incidents for refusing public health order inspections on March 7, March 14, and June 6 of 2021.
