Jason Kenney vs. the Pawlowski family — who's right?
Over the weekend, Jason Kenney held a press conference revolving around an increased investment in religious infrastructure. This comes as a response to the vandalism and arson attacks we saw targeting over 50 churches across Canada through the past year. This investment may be a good thing for the church buildings themselves, but what about the religious freedoms practiced within these facilities?
As seen in Alberta, Pastor James Coates, Pastor Tim Stephens, and Pastor Artur Pawlowski, have all had to spend time behind bars for breaching public health orders, such as hosting church services. Many see these public health orders as violating Charter rights of freedom of religion, expression, association and assembly.
We asked Alberta Premier Jason Kenney about his thoughts on the matter, especially surrounding around Pastor Artur Pawlowski, who is currently being held behind bars at the Calgary Remand Centre, for over a month now. This latest arrest stems from a sermon he provided to truckers at the Coutts blockade, telling them to peacefully “hold the line.”
Pastor Artur is the first person in Canada charged under the Critical Infrastructure Defence Act, again, because he provided a sermon during the one night he spent at the Coutts blockade. Jason Kenney claimed Pastor Artur allegedly incited violence while in Coutts, but this wouldn't be the first time Jason Kenney lied about violence at the blockade.
The day after hearing the response of Jason Kenney, we caught up with Nathaniel, son of Artur, at the Calgary Remand Centre. Every day, they come to show their support for Pastor Artur, and this time, Nathaniel spoke to the supporting crowd with a statement from the Pawlowski family, as a response to Jason Kenney's full remarks.
In this Pawlowski response, Nathaniel goes line-by-line, addressing each remark made by the premier, as an attempt to set the record straight.
We interviewed Nathaniel thereafter, and saw from his perspective that not only is the judicial system replacing the rule of law with political motivations, but as well the Remand Centre itself seems to be playing into politics. As we hear from Nathaniel, his father has been placed in an unprovoked state of solitary confinement for an unknown duration.
As per Nathaniel, while murderers are being released on bail, this was not a courtesy Pastor Artur was granted, and so we do not know how long he will be behind bars for, nor what poor treatment he may face along the way. This past Saturday, we spoke with Nathaniel and were told Artur’s bail appeal is in the works, as Artur’s legal defence just received disclosure after an irregularly long delay.
Shortly after the Pawlowski family response, Artur was able to call his family members and directly respond to Premier Jason Kenney's remarks. This was done from the Calgary Remand Centre.
To help Artur’s bail appeal and legal defence in all regards, you can go to SaveArtur.com to donate, and follow the story for the latest updates.
Sydney Fizzard
Video Journalist
After seeing the manipulation and harm caused by the pandemic narrative, Sydney Fizzard started on the path of reporting in mid 2020. With an interest in hearing from everyday Canadians, politicians, business owners, religious figures and community leaders, Syd aims to reveal underlying truths and examine societal movement. Notably, Syd spent 16 consecutive days at the Coutts, Alberta border blockade.
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