Centennial Arena in Nipawin was set to be the site of the Easter Sunday drive-in service hosted by the Nipawin Apostolic Church. (Facebook/Chad Jeremy Glascock)

By Mat Barrett

Drive-in Service

After cancelled drive-in church service, legal opinions, health authority reverses decision

Apr 21, 2020 | 1:00 PM

When the Nipawin Apostolic Church planned a drive-in service for Easter Sunday, the government quickly recommended the event not happen. But now after some discussion and legal opinions, the Saskatchewan Health Authority says similar services may take place, provided a social distancing plan is put forward ahead of time.

“I thought we were planning just a simple little event. I would have been quite happy just to have that happen” Pastor Jordan Gadsby said about the original event’s cancellation. “This is OK too. Together, we figure stuff out and make the best plans we can.”

The health authority suggested the event be shut down citing concerns about enforcing social distancing protocols. That led to Calgary based law firm, The Justice Centre for Constitutional Rights to speak out on the situation.

“People have freedom of religion, and association, and assembly, that is their constitutional right,” litigation manager Jay Cameron said. “It is not a right that comes from the state; it is a right which is to be recognized by the state.”

Cameron and the firm sent a letter to the government and health authority that essentially stated they were infringing on the rights of those attending the drive-in service.

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“There’s no risk of transmission when people gather inside of their cars to worship,” Cameron told northeastNOW. “And there’s no reason for the state to threaten people with fines and punishment for that type of activity which is the lawful exercise of their constitutional right.”

That letter led to discussion by the health authority and the provincial government. On Saturday, April 18, the government changed its protocols surrounding social distancing and how it would relate to an event similar to the one in Nipawin. The government and health authority will now allow events like a drive-in religious service, granted there are appropriate safety measures in place to make sure the risk of transmission is low.

Services may be delivered “as drive-in services where individuals remain in their vehicles with no contact between worshippers, and only individuals from the same household occupy the same vehicle,” a release from the provincial health authority stated.

Some of those measures would be parishioners not leaving their vehicles and making sure the bathroom if, someone ultimately needs to use it, is clean. Gadsby said he was told a plan would need to be presented to the Saskatchewan Health Authority before the event as well, something he said won’t be a big issue.

Cameron said they were happy with the government’s decision.

“We’re grateful that the government recognized that this was a mistake and took steps to correct it,” he said.

Cameron added an event like this being shut down is just the tip of the iceberg during the time of this COVID-19 pandemic. He argued health authorities across the province aren’t allowing for people to continue to live, adding activities like as walking in the forest, biking, or even golfing shouldn’t be shut down.

“Life has to continue, and people have a right to continue to live,” he said. “The government does not have a right to take away all of the things that make life worth living.”

As for the Nipawin Apostolic Church, Gadsby said there are no concrete plans quite yet on when they will do an event like this again, but he said it is very much on the table. He said the situation is fluid and credited the government and health authority for continually adjusting its protocols in these unknown times.

“I’m glad that the government and the health authority were able to work on that,” Gadsby told northeastNOW. “I think their guidelines are well thought through and quite reasonable for people to work with.”

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mat.barrett@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @matbarrett6