'Obeying God rather than man': Church of God pastor pleads guilty to 2021 violation of Reopening Ontario Act

THE CANADIAN PRESS/Geoff Robins

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Alymer, Ont., Church of God Pastor Henry Hildebrandt must pay $65,000 in fines after pleading guilty to violating the Reopening Ontario Act in 2021, marking the end of the church’s longstanding legal battle that originally included over $270,000 in fines and other fees.

Pastor Hildebrandt released a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, following the decision, declaring, “I admitted today to one count of obeying God rather than man. I freely admit that we violated the Reopening Ontario Act, an act which brazenly violated section 2 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.”

We have arrived at the end of our legal battle in Canada. After the Supreme Court declined to hear our appeal, we were in court today and settled dozens of outstanding charges. I told the Justice I was guilty of obeying God rather than man. All charges except one were dropped. I… pic.twitter.com/9NEGbWvvRq

— Pastor Henry Hildebrandt (@aylmerpastor) August 25, 2023

The charges Pastor Hildebrandt received involved the organization of nine church services between January and June 2021 in Elgin County. These services exceeded provincial gathering capacity restrictions in place under the Reopening Ontario Act, which at the time made it unlawful to gather in groups of more than 25 outdoors and 10 indoors.

On January 8, 2022, Ontario Superior Court Justice Renee Pomerance admitted these restrictions directly violated the religious freedom of the Alymer churchgoers and acknowledged the negative psychological impact of the mandates on their wellbeing. However, she went on to decide that the limits were  justified in a free and democratic society and “reasonable under the circumstances.”

Following the refusal of the Supreme Court of Canada to hear an appeal of the decision, Pastor Hildebrandt and the Alymer Church of God accepted a deal that has put an end to their legal turmoil.

Additional charges against the church, the Hildebrandt family, and others who faced fines and court summons as a result of the prohibited gatherings — charges that would have resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars of penalties — were dropped as a part of a joint submission from public prosecutor Jack Huber and Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedom defence lawyer Chris Fleury.

Pastor @aylmerpastor is pleased to finally put this matter behind him, with the charges against his family, Church & its members, being withdrawn. The Justice Centre is proud to have stood by him, and continues to defend his charges for allegedly attending protests. https://t.co/HO5CGtEoYn

— Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (@JCCFCanada) August 25, 2023

Concluding his reflection on the arduous court journey, Pastor Hildebrandt added this final piece to the puzzle:

As gathering for worship was declared a harmful act to the community in the court today, I, along with the Church of God congregation, offered, in lieu of the fine, to donate $75,000 over the next year to the Alymer Food Bank to make amends to the local community that was most impacted by our actions.

Sadly, this offer was declined outright by the prosecution and the $65,000 fine will be going to the Ontario government, not the local community. This raises the question of whether our actions were a harm to the community or a harm to the government narrative. I’ll let you decide.