Ontario judge dismisses churches’ challenge against COVID-19 rules – CBC
Justice says Ontario has met its burden to establish that the regulations are reasonable limits
Mar 01, 2022
Two Ontario churches that challenged the province’s COVID-19 religious gathering restrictions, claiming they violated their right to freedom of religion and assembly under the Constitution, have lost in court.
Ontario Superior Court of Justice Renée Pomerance, who oversaw the hearing held at the end of January, released her decision Tuesday.
The Church of God in Aylmer, Ont., and the Trinity Bible Chapel in Waterloo, Ont., were charged in the spring of 2021 for various infringements of the public health restrictions put in place to help curb the spread of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
Pomerance writes in her decision that she agrees that religious gathering limits did infringe on the ability of the complainants to engage in religious activity as a congregation, and that the gathering limits had negative impact on the psychological well-being of church members.
“Yet, it remains the fact that, despite the claimants’ characterization as such, there was never a complete ban on religious gatherings or religious activity,” she concludes.
