Pandemic restrictions on the size of outdoor gatherings were justified, Saskatchewan Court of King’s Bench ruled yesterday. The decision came in the case of protesters fined $2,800 apiece for breaching a public health order limiting outdoor gatherings to ten people..“With the benefit of hindsight to reflect on the public health measures enacted in the height of the pandemic we can all see things which we would wish had been done differently or not at all,” wrote Justice Daniel Konkin. “Even so, it is difficult to come to a consensus as to what the right balance is or should have been. Some feel the public health measures were too restrictive whereas for others they were too lenient.”.Saskatchewan’s chief medical officer from the outbreak of the pandemic issued six different orders over a 16-month period under the Emergency Planning Act that limited outdoor gatherings. Maximum group sizes ranged from 10 people to 30, 50 or 150 before restrictions were repealed altogether in 2021..According to Blacklock's Reporter, two protesters ticketed for attending a December 19, 2020 lockdown protest in Saskatoon challenged the COVID-19 orders as a breach of Charter rights. Justice Konkin called the orders a justifiable infringement on freedom of peaceful assembly and expression..“At no point was public protest prohibited,” wrote Justice Konkin. “As long as there was physical distancing at protests there was nothing hindering the applicants from organizing and participating in multiple outdoor gatherings of ten persons or less concurrently or consecutively.”.The Court noted Saskatchewan at the time had the highest infection rate in the country, 143 cases per 100,000 population, and that no vaccine was yet available. “Until COVID-19 vaccines were approved for use and widely available in Canada other public health measures were the only available interventions,” said the Court..“The health care system was overwhelmed,” wrote Justice Konkin. The orders limiting outdoor gatherings “helped to reduce the risk of overall COVID-19 transmission across Saskatchewan even if any particular gathering might not necessarily have resulted in transmission,” he said..“The enactment of the public health orders restricting outdoor gatherings was not politically driven,” wrote the Court, adding: “This is a government that for the most part has a proclivity to foster personal rights and freedoms. It is incongruous to conclude public health measures were politically fueled.”.Lawyers for the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms of Calgary acted on behalf of protesters in the case. The Centre yesterday said it was considering an appeal..“My role is not to settle scientific or medical debates presented by the experts,” wrote Justice Konkin. Local authorities were “charged with the task of protecting public health during an unprecedented public health emergency,” he said.
