In-person worship services banned in British Columbia
In November 2020, British Columbia Provincial Health Officer (PHO) Dr. Bonnie Henry prohibited in-person worship services. At the same time, bars, restaurants, gyms, salons, and other venues were permitted to remain open for in-person services. Pastor John Koopman of the Free Reformed Church and other churches in the Fraser Valley felt a religious conviction to continue offering in-person worship services. They reopened their doors while complying with all other public health orders, including masking and social distancing. Meanwhile, Chilliwack RCMP were conducting surveillance on the church.
Between December 2020 and April 2021, Pastor Koopman was issued 23 tickets for contravening BC public health orders. Each ticket carried a $2,300 fine.
Dr. Bonnie Henry grants accommodation request of synagogues, denies requests of churches and mosques
Accommodation requests of Synagogues granted
On January 8, 2021, the Free Reformed Church and two other churches launched a constitutional challenge against the prohibition on in-person worship services. Pastor Koopman and other pastors then submitted an accommodation request to the BC Provincial Health Office to gather for in-person services, but their request received no response for several weeks. At the same time, Dr. Henry’s office had been responding within one or two days to accommodation requests from Orthodox Synagogues, permitting them to gather indoors. During one week in February 2021, Dr. Henry granted synagogues permission on a Tuesday to gather indoors; she denied mosques permission to gather indoors the following day, and she told three churches that they could meet outdoors but not indoors the next day.
Churches granted limited permission to gather outdoors
Two business days before the Court was to hear their constitutional challenge, Dr. Henry’s office finally granted the churches limited permission to gather outdoors but not indoors, claiming that indoor gatherings were too risky. On March 18, 2021, Chief Justice Christopher Hinkson dismissed the churches’ challenge to the gathering restrictions in part because they had already been granted permission by the PHO to gather outdoors.
The BC Court of Appeal upheld Chief Justice Hinkson’s decision, and the Supreme Court of Canada later denied them leave to appeal the BC Court’s decision.
Meanwhile, the Crown continued to prosecute Pastor Koopman amongst others for hosting events in violation of the PHO’s gathering restrictions. On November 8, 2022, Pastor Koopman was found guilty.
Prosecution of Pastor John Koopman risks undermining the integrity of the judicial process
On April 14, 2023, Pastor Koopman submitted an Application to the Provincial Court of British Columbia, arguing that the discriminatory actions of the Provincial Health Officer had made the continuation of his prosecution offensive to societal notions of fair play and decency and had brought the administration of justice into disrepute. In response, on May 10, 2023, the Crown argued that the abuse-of-process application should not proceed to an evidentiary hearing and that Dr. Henry and Deputy PHO Dr. Brian Emerson should not be subpoenaed as witnesses in the case.
From May 15-18, 2023, our lawyers presented arguments to Judge Andrea Ormiston that the abuse-of-process Application should proceed to an evidentiary hearing. Later, on September 6, Judge Ormiston denied the Crown’s Application to summarily dismiss the abuse-of-process Application, stating that there was “some evidence that the Provincial Health Officer preferred some faith groups over others.” Judge Ormiston found that, under the circumstances, it was not “manifestly frivolous” to think that the continued prosecution of Pastor Koopman “risks undermining the integrity of the judicial process.” However, Judge Ormiston declined to allow our lawyers to subpoena Dr. Henry or Dr. Emerson.
From December 4 to 7, 2023, at the Abbotsford Law Courts, our lawyers sought records of the accommodation requests received by the PHO since the beginning of the pandemic to determine how the various requests were handled. Our lawyers also sought records of communications the PHO received from BC politicians regarding the prohibition on in-person worship services.
Lawyers argue that Dr. Bonnie Henry granted preferential treatment to some faith groups over others
On June 13, 2024, a 10-day hearing commenced at the Chilliwack Law Courts. Our lawyers argued that Dr. Bonnie Henry granted preferential treatment to some faith groups over others when considering requests to be exempted from her total ban on in-person worship services. The churches argued that being prosecuted for violating public health orders was an abuse of process and should be stayed. Our lawyers presented evidence that Dr. Henry acted dishonestly and in bad faith when banning in-person worship services in 2020 and 2021, granting immediate exemptions to synagogues while ignoring similar requests from Muslims and Christians.
“When government officials, including public health officers, exercise coercive government power, it is essential that they use that power honestly, in good faith, and without discrimination against people based on irrelevant consideration, including their particular religious faith,” stated lawyer Marty Moore. “We believe that the evidence in this case will show that the Provincial Health Officer’s treatment of faith communities during 2020 and 2021 violated the rule of law and that the prosecution of pastors and churches in this context undermines public confidence not only in our public health officials but also in our justice system.”
