While Pastor Artur Pawlowski has recently been found guilty for speaking at the Coutts protest in Alberta, Pastor Aaron Rock has been liberated of all charges for his attendance at a rally in Ontario in response to the same lockdown and gathering restrictions.

After attending a rally May 30, 2021, Pastor Rock was charged in contravention of Ontario’s restrictions against outdoor gatherings greater than 10 people, a charge that could carry fines up to $300,000. A statement from the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF), legal representatives for Pastor Rock, explained that all charges had been either dropped or stayed.

The agreement to have the charges stayed was for Pastor Rock to donate a modest sum to a registered charity. According to his lawyer, Chris Fleury, this is referred to as a diversion, and is a common arrangement.

His lawyer further stated, “there is an implicit acknowledgement, when there are resolutions like this, that the public interest in prosecuting them is waning”.

In his defence Pastor Rock declared “I believe humans are more than biotic beings, and that lockdowns were harmful to our spiritual, social, economic and mental health,” he continued “I believe it is immoral to penalize people for exercising bodily autonomy over medical injections.”

In similar cases JCCF point out that just days after this event, Waterloo Regional Police failed to ticket anyone at an event honouring indigenous children, despite there being hundreds in attendance.

Further, on February 7th, charges against Ontario Pastor Henry Hildebrand and his family were all withdrawn by Crown prosecutors; charges stemming from their attendance at an anti-lockdown rally in Brantford on April 3rd, 2021.

It is promising to see our legal system support the rights of these individuals by dismissing these baseless and superfluous charges. Case by case we are seeing decisions that oppose the government’s attempts to unfairly target religious groups simply trying to provide their congregation with an opportunity to worship.

We support those fighting to uphold the rights and freedoms of all Canadians. Stand with us.

To read the article written by Doug Lett of The Epoch Times, click here