Churches’ Charter challenge dismissed

A judge has dismissed a motion by Aylmer Church of God (Restoration) and Trinity Bible Chapel in Waterloo challenging the constitutionality of COVID-19 religious gathering limits.

Both churches faced charges and fines in 2021 for not following provincial restrictions aimed at minimizing transmission of COVID-19 and resulting hospitalizations.

Justice Renee Pomerance, in a decision released this week, said “Religious freedom is not absolute. It may have to yield in the face of competing rights and interests.”

In the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Section 2a says everyone has the freedom of conscience and religion.

During their arguments, lawyers for the churches argued the pandemic wasn’t much worse than seasonal influenza.

Justice Pomerance, in her decision, wrote “Life and health were endangered by the pandemic, and steps were taken to prevent those dangers from being realized. The fact that people die every year from other conditions, such as influenza, does not set a bar of tolerable morality.”

She accepted that some of the numerical limits did infringe on the churches’ religious freedoms. “There was never a complete ban on religious gatherings or religious activity. It was always open to the churches to deliver services to congregants, albeit in a less than optimal fashion.”

She also accepted that “Religious gathering limits had a negative impact on the psychological well-being of church members,” but “The salutary benefits of these restrictions outweighed the deleterious effects on religious freedom. Ontario has met its burden to establish that the regulations in issue are reasonable limits, demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.”

More in the March 9 print edition.