The queue of Canadians waiting for their day in court is showing no signs of slowing. Thousands of provincial act charges were issued throughout the lockdowns, and it will take years to address them all.
Pastor Henry Hildebrandt, highly regarded in his community of Aylmer, has had many charges levied against him as he continually showed his determination to speak out for the freedoms of his congregation and his community.
One by one he has succeeded in having these charges dismissed for various reasons. Unfortunately, one of his charges resulted in a guilty plea to a charge under the Reopening Ontario Act for holding an outdoor church service on June 6th, 2021.
For back ground on the progression of this case, let’s go back to Feb 28, 2022, when Ontario Superior Court Justice Renee M. Pomerance ruled that orders stemming from the Reopening Ontario Act did in fact violate ones freedom of religion and that the mandates had a negative psychological impact on members of the congregation, however she ruled that although the restrictions interfered with religious freedom, they were “reasonably and demonstrably justified” given the deadly public health crisis”.
This decision was later upheld by the Ontario Court of Appeals and by default, the Supreme Court of Canada as they refused to hear the appeal.
Due to these rulings and after much prayer and consultation with legal counsel, Pastor Hildebrandt made the difficult decision to accept a deal to end the endless legal battle, that will see all other charges dropped against him, his family, the Church of God, former politicians Randy Hillier and Derek Sloan and other church members. As the potential for hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees, if acquitted and the same amount in fines if found guilty, the decision to accept the deal was agreed upon.
When the prosecution was presented with the suggestion that instead of paying the fine, $65,000 to the Ontario government, Pastor Hildebrandt will donate $75,000 to the local Aylmer food bank over the next year, the very community that was harmed by the gatherings, according to the courts, they declined.
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, Section 1 of the Charter denotes that any rights suspended, must be demonstrably justified. The test applied to determine this is what we call the Oakes Test. A four-pronged test to determine if the purpose is demonstrably justifiable in a free and democratic society.
This test we believe has never been applied correctly to date.
Thank you, Pastor Hildebrandt, for standing strong in your convictions. We applaud you for you bravery.
To donate to Pastor Hildebrandt’s fines, click here.
“Carl Jung the psychologist talks about how there is no virus more dangerous than the mind virus.” The destruction of the rule of law and freedoms using a “politicized science”with constant “fear” messaging was a tactic used by government to control the people who increasingly seem to be thought of as a commodity like cattle to be herded about. The breaching of the criminal code by police, as we saw in this case and many others together with a questionable “justice” in our “two tier” courts today is another indicator of deep rooted problems. Justice in Canada is NOT blind today as it is supposed to be – no equal justice for all. The awkward compliance by Law Enforcement following nonsensical “state” orders was reminiscent of 1930’s Germany and how a compliant nation can fall under the intense grip of those in power with totalitarian designs. We have witnessed today how, “It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.” (Voltaire) God bless you Pastor Hildebrandt – a true Shepherd and thank you as you have demonstrated that “When The Laws of Men Violate The Laws of God, Our Duty is Clear, We Must Obey God, Rather Than Men” Acts 5:29