Appeals court upholds constitutionality of COVID-19 public health orders
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 19/06/2023 (1202 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
The Manitoba Court of Appeal has upheld a lower-court ruling affirming the constitutionality of COVID-19 public health orders that previously restricted gatherings and limited the number of people permitted to attend in-person church services.
The court dismissed the appeal of seven churches and three individuals in a 45-page decision released Monday.
The group had argued three grounds of appeal, including claims the ruling was unconstitutional, violated charter rights, and did not comply with the Public Health Act — all of which were rejected by the appeal court.
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The court dismissed the appeal of seven churches and three individuals in a 45-page decision released Monday.
“I have not been convinced that the application judge erred in his consideration of the evidence,” Justice Diana Cameron wrote on behalf of the court.
The contested October 2021 ruling by King’s Bench Chief Justice Glenn Joyal came 10 months after a court challenge launched by Gateway Bible Baptist Church, Pembina Valley Baptist Church, Redeeming Grace Bible Church, Grace Covenant Church, Slavic Baptist Church, Bible Baptist Church, Christian Church of Morden, and pastors Thomas Rempel, Tobias Tissen and Ross MacKay.
The churches specifically challenged three provincial public health orders that, in the fall of 2020, at the height of the second wave of the pandemic in Manitoba, restricted private and public gatherings and placed limits on the number of people who could attend in-person worship services.
Joyal found while the rules did restrict the freedoms of religious expression and peaceful assembly, they didn’t infringe upon charter rights to liberty and equality, and were justified as a pandemic response based on credible science.
The Calgary-based Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, which represented the group in court, said Monday’s decision “will be reviewed thoroughly, and an update will be provided in due course with respect to potential next steps.”