Edmonton Pastor Tracey Fortin and Church in the Vine achieved a small, but critical legal victory this week to overturn obstruction convictions for refusing to allow a COVID-19 health inspection to take place during a religious service..Justice Frans Slatter of the Court of Appeal of Alberta released a decision earlier this week that acknowledged Fortin and Church in the Vine raised a question of law important enough to justify review by a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeal..The pastor and the church were convicted of breaching the Public Health Act and cumulatively fined more than $80,000 after allegedly refusing to allow a public health inspection to occur during a religious service. They unsuccessfully appealed to the Alberta Court of King's Bench before the highest court in Alberta granted them leave to appeal their conviction this week..The Democracy Fund (TDF) hired James Kitchen to bring the leave application on behalf of Fortin and the church. TDF retained Kitchen to argue the appeal, which TDF expects to turn on whether the trial judge erred in summarily dismissing the appellants' Charter application without hearing evidence..According to Slatter, the appeal was granted to explore “whether the applicants have a defence to the charges based on their right to freedom of religion, assembly and association under Sec. 2 of the Charter” and because “The summary conviction appeal judge erroneously approved the trial judge’s summary dismissal of the Charter based defence to the charges, by inappropriately using the process set out in R. v Vukelich (1996). .Justice Slatter did not agree with Kitchen that Fortin and the church raised an issue of sufficient importance to justify a separate appeal of their $80,000 plus fine. However, should Kitchen and the church succeed in overturning the conviction, the sentences will be vacated..The church was fined $50,000, plus a 20% victim surcharge of $10,000, while Fortin was fined $15,000.
