Live Updates: Pastor Artur Pawlowski appeals conviction after giving sermon to Coutts protesters
The legal saga of Alberta Pastor Artur Pawlowski continues today in Calgary as the Court of Appeal is set to review the pastor's criminal conviction for giving a sermon to the anti-mandate protesters at Coutts in Februrary 2022.
Pastor Artur has been a committed advocate for civil liberties and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and he brought that passion for freedom with him when he visited truckers and their supporters as they blockaded the Coutts, Alberta border crossing in opposition to government-imposed COVID-19 restrictions.
He delivered an inspirational sermon encouraging the protesters to “hold the line” in their fight against COVID-19 vaccine mandates and restrictions, which ultimately resulted in guilty criminal convictions related to his speech.
Pastor Artur is appealing what he describes as an "injustice" today at the Court of Appeal in Calgary in an attempt at becoming fully exonerated.
Rebel News CEO Ezra Levant is at the courthouse in Calgary and will be covering today's proceedings.
Follow along below for live updates:
Court's over. Ruling will given at a later date.
— Ezra Levant 🍁🚛 (@ezralevant) September 10, 2024
I'm going to go interview Sarah Miller now, and I'll post that video to https://t.co/bMwAj1iNfP. Thanks for following along.
Barg and Wolley going back and forth over whether Pastor Artur's speech is protected under s. 429(2) of the Criminal Code, "(2) A person shall not be convicted of an offence under sections 430 to 446 if they act with legal justification or excuse or colour of right."
— Ezra Levant 🍁🚛 (@ezralevant) September 10, 2024
Barg sounds like he's trying another analogy. (The last one didn't work out so well.) Now he's talking about a case involving Sunday shopping.
— Ezra Levant 🍁🚛 (@ezralevant) September 10, 2024
Justice Woolley: if someone stands up to make a political speech at a protest (doesn't induce the protest), argument is, it should be…
Barg: hypothetical case of saying you couldn't be convicted of robbery just because you use "words".
— Ezra Levant 🍁🚛 (@ezralevant) September 10, 2024
Justice Woolley interrupts to say that's an unfair analogy, because robbery isn't mischief.
deWit: we're not just talking about mischief, we're talking about counselling mischief. "We don't have anything" on it -- i.e. I think he's saying there's a legal void.
— Ezra Levant 🍁🚛 (@ezralevant) September 10, 2024
Evan: did Pastor Artur's speech fall within freedom of expression? And was it peaceful?
— Ezra Levant 🍁🚛 (@ezralevant) September 10, 2024
Woolley: even if the speech is covered by s. 2(b) freedom of expression of the Charter, s. 1 of the Charter allows us to override freedom of expression.
Woolley: does your argument amount to: as long as someone has a political spirit, then they're good?
— Ezra Levant 🍁🚛 (@ezralevant) September 10, 2024
Sarah: no, it doesn't need political spirit, as long as people are communicating information
Woolley: I don't understand a world where you're inciting mischief, and that can be…
Sarah and deWit going back and forth about interpretations of various sections of the law. Sarah says any ambiguity should be resolved in favour of the accused.
— Ezra Levant 🍁🚛 (@ezralevant) September 10, 2024
Here's the section of the Criminal Code they're arguing about: s. 430(7): No person commits mischief within the meaning of this section by reason only that he attends at or near or approaches a dwelling-house or place for the purpose only of obtaining or communicating…
— Ezra Levant 🍁🚛 (@ezralevant) September 10, 2024
Sarah: the most important error was in para. 64 of the trial judge's ruling: "[64] Having already concluded that Mr. Pawlowski's Speech was intended to incite the protesters to continue the blockade, it is not logical to conclude his actions were solely communicative. His…
— Ezra Levant 🍁🚛 (@ezralevant) September 10, 2024
This is a very lively panel of judges. They're clearly engaged in the meat of the matter and are ready with their questions. That is, they're not waiting for Sarah to simply elocute her written statements; they're grilling her.
— Ezra Levant 🍁🚛 (@ezralevant) September 10, 2024
Slatter: was the speech really about the Polish Solidarity movement?
— Ezra Levant 🍁🚛 (@ezralevant) September 10, 2024
deWit: he spoke about more than just the Polish strike
Woolley: didn't Artur tell people to stay in Coutts, not go home? Doesn't the trial job have the right to make inferences about his purpose?
Sarah: "actus reus" -- the criminal act -- for inciting mischief requires actual encouragement to commit mischief, and Artur didn't do that.
— Ezra Levant 🍁🚛 (@ezralevant) September 10, 2024
Justice deWit: didn't the judge draw an inference about Artur's conduct (that was the judge's right)?
Sarah: the judge went too far.
Sarah gets into it: "Pastor Artur did not actually incite mischief".
— Ezra Levant 🍁🚛 (@ezralevant) September 10, 2024
The judges indicate that they have Sarah's written submissions "on their screens". They have read the materials and seem prepared.
— Ezra Levant 🍁🚛 (@ezralevant) September 10, 2024
My point is, there are still a lot of people in law enforcement and in the justice system who really do believe in justice and obviously disagree with the woke trends in the law. But that's Calgary for you, I guess.
— Ezra Levant 🍁🚛 (@ezralevant) September 10, 2024
What a friendly welcome I have personally received in the 15 minutes I've been in the building. Other lawyers here on other business, and some court staff, have come over to give compliments to Rebel News! I don't want to identify the staff because they might get in trouble.
— Ezra Levant 🍁🚛 (@ezralevant) September 10, 2024
Rebel News has probably done 100 news stories about Pastor Artur. He became client no. 1 of our "fight the fines" project during the Covid lockdowns, when. he was arrested for feeding the homeless -- police called that an "illegal gathering". How outrageous.
— Ezra Levant 🍁🚛 (@ezralevant) September 10, 2024
The appeal is scheduled for two hours. Remember, it's not a new trial; there will be no witnesses testifying, etc. It's a review of the trial decision. You can read that decision for yourself, here: https://t.co/EgiqzrYAVe
— Ezra Levant 🍁🚛 (@ezralevant) September 10, 2024
I waited outside to see if I could catch Pastor Artur on his way in; I was just told by Evan Best that Artur is not in fact coming today.
— Ezra Levant 🍁🚛 (@ezralevant) September 10, 2024
I’m back in Calgary for the Court of Appeal review of Pastor Artur Pawlowski’s criminal conviction for giving a sermon to the protesters at the Coutts trucker blockade in 2022.
— Ezra Levant 🍁🚛 (@ezralevant) September 10, 2024
Follow along on Twitter, and please help crowdfund his lawyer at https://t.co/bMwAj1jl5n. pic.twitter.com/Lvf8SUU75A
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