B.C. judge rules to keep churches closed but peaceful protests wide open
Unlike in Toronto, where peaceful anti-lockdown protesters get dragged off and arrested, or in Montreal where my own colleagues Efron Monsanto and Lincoln Jay were arrested and detained for reporting at a protest, the Vancouver Police Department has done an outstanding job at balancing citizens’ rights to peaceful protest and enforcing public health orders regarding COVID-19.
In Vancouver, protesters of all different types, as well as participants in outdoor religious gatherings contravening B.C.’s public health orders, have not been repeatedly slapped with thousands upon thousands of dollars in fines, nor have they been unreasonably arrested.
However, B.C. has recently had both a great win, and a baffling loss, regarding the freedom to assemble in peaceful protest and freedom of religious expression.
In a recent provincial Supreme Court ruling regarding a petition brought forward by the Justice Centre For Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF), on behalf of four plaintiffs — three Fraser Valley churches and a man named Alain Beaudoin — Justice Christopher Hinkson ruled in favour of protesters having a right to peacefully protest in person in B.C. Yet, in the same ruling, Hinkson denied Christians and members of other faiths the right to worship in person during life with COVID-19, by ruling the infringements that shut down in person services as reasonable.
In today’s report, I share with you a candid sit down interview with North Vancouver lawyer, Paul Jaffe, who argued on behalf of the four plaintiffs. Jaffe gave me all the details of his take on the ruling, and whether or not the JCCF plans to appeal the court's decision.
Click here to watch the full interview.
Just like the JCCF, Rebel News has been fighting the good fight, providing Canadians with champion lawyers to represent those who have been fined and even charged during life with COVID-19. While it’s great news that Justice Hinkson’s ruling solidifies that peaceful protests are legal, even during life with COVID, we at Rebel News still need your help to defend people all across Canada, at no cost to them.
To join us in this fight, please donate what you can at FightTheFines.com, and if you need our help, you can let us know there as well.
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