Full Gospel Outreach in Prince Albert (file photo/paNOW Staff)

By Glenn Hicks

covid-19

P.A. church group to contest big COVID fine

Dec 22, 2020 | 5:17 PM

A Prince Albert church will contest in court the large fine it received from government authorities in October for violating public health orders and provincial COVID-19 guidelines.

The Alberta lawyer who will represent Full Gospel Outreach says religious groups — and street churches in particular — have been targeted by authorities during the pandemic and the case will revolve, in part, around the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Meanwhile, the church’s pastor says the government has been “unbalanced” in its enforcement of the laws and argues health officials don’t understand the importance of spiritual gatherings.

The church’s legal costs will be paid for by the far-right political online media outlet Rebel News, which has run a crowdfunding campaign to give legal assistance to those who, as they say, “have received a lockdown ticket.”

The fine

On Oct. 7, the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) declared a multi-jurisdictional outbreak of COVID-19 stemming from a series of events held at the P.A. church from Sept. 14 to Oct. 4. The place of worship was subsequently fined $14,000 with SHA reminding the public of “very serious consequences for not following Public Health Orders, including fines in cases where negligence or misconduct have been found.”

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SHA said over 80 people ultimately tested positive for COVID-19 as those who attended the church gatherings passed on transmission to others in the city and beyond.

An image from at least one gathering at the church appears to show the congregation failing to socially distance and not wearing facemasks.

An image taken of a sermon from evangelist Ian Lavallee and posted in September appears to show a gathering that is not socially distanced nor using facemasks. (Facebook)

Sarah Miller, a lawyer with Calgary-based law firm Jensen Shawa Solomon Duguid Hawkes LLP, is handling the case for Full Gospel Outreach. She’s aware of images of gatherings posted by various media. While she stressed she’s still awaiting legal disclosure from the Government of Saskatchewan – which will detail their precise line of prosecution and what triggered their investigation – she thinks this case will focus on two elements: the Charter rights of religious groups, and who is ultimately responsible if people choose not to follow social distancing rules.

The arguments

“The biggest part of the defence is Charter defence,” Miller told paNOW. “There’s a religious aspect to this; churches in many ways have been highly targeted for these offences. So, there’s possibly a bit of an equality issue as well,” she said, arguing until recently you could go to the movies but not go to a street church and hand out food to the homeless.

She added it’s difficult to say when somebody comes into a building or an organization if the owner is responsible for every person who enters that door.

“If I go into my local grocery store… and breach any of the public health laws, is the grocery store responsible or am I responsible as an individual?” she said.

Miller said when it comes to criminal law it would be difficult to say you are criminally responsible for someone else’s actions. She said from what she’s been told, the church had masks and hand sanitizer available and had signs posted as necessary.

P.A. pastor says rules are unfair

The pastor for Full Gospel Outreach, Vern Temple, calls the fine he received “excessive and upsetting.” While he understands the need for certain businesses like stores to reduce their maximum capacity, he argues the authorities have not been fair in imposing restrictions on places of worship. In the case of his church, he said the congregation of over a hundred includes many people in crisis, due to issues like homelessness or substance abuse.

“The government has somewhat of a misconception, maybe just an unbalanced viewpoint of the importance of the church,” he told paNOW. “A lot of health officials perhaps don’t understand… the necessity of churches.”

Temple said in times of crisis people turn to spirituality not a doctor and need to be with one another.

“Therapy or counselling just doesn’t happen in the pastor’s office. It happens in the church community,” he said.

In October Prince Albert Mayor Greg Dionne called the fine levied against the church “appropriate.”

“I’m saddened that we had to take that action that people were blatantly not following the rules,” Dionne told paNOW.

He added the outreach centre’s actions had “tarnished everybody,” particularly houses of worship that have been carefully adhering to provincial guidelines.

The church’s first court appearance in P.A. Provincial Court is scheduled for early March 2021.

Alberta ruling

Meanwhile, a Queen’s Bench justice has dismissed the injunction application against Alberta’s public health orders restricting public indoor and outdoor public gatherings as well as mandatory mask wearing during a hearing Monday in Calgary.

Heights Baptist Church in Medicine Hat along with another Calgary-based church and several individuals filed for the injunction earlier this month claiming Alberta’s public health restrictions are unconstitutional.

Justice Anne Kirker found the case against the province has merit but ruled against the injunction on the basis that the possible damages of not having the health restrictions outweighed those of maintaining them based on the information presented at court.

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glenn.hicks@jpbg.ca

On Twitter:@princealbertnow