The spring of 2020 brought restrictions across Canada in increasing severity, from federal and provincial levels.

Manitoba’s Premier, Brian Pallister, enacted some of the most severe: gatherings limited to five people, church services shut down and residents required to stay home.

Seven congregations joined forces to launch a constitutional challenge against Manitoba’s Emergency Measures and Public Health Acts, supported by the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF), with a goal of having the mandates labelled as ‘an unlawful infringement on their right to freedom of religion under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms’.

The case was first heard by Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Glenn Joyal who ruled the lockdowns ‘justifiable’, saying “the pandemic’s presence in Manitoba demanded decisive action in order to reduce the spread of the virus and in order to flatten the curve”.

His decision was appealed, with results released in June; the Court of Appeal chose to uphold Joyal’s decision, believing the restrictions only “minimally impacted the rights in question”. They concluded that the “freedom of religion can be limited when the exercise of it can interfere with the rights of others”.

It is troubling that we continue to see support for these mandates and their enforcement. The evidence is clear that there was little positive effect and significant negative repercussions for our collective mental health, welfare and economy, and that those in charge had that information available to them at the time. They knowingly restricted the basic human rights of Canadians for no expectation of a positive outcome.

Labelling these actions as ‘justifiable infringements of one’s constitutional rights’ is a catchall phrase, parroted by our justice system, that has yet to be demonstrably justified in our courts.

Simply saying so does not make it so.

When will a member of our bench have the fortitude to stand and demand what is the legal standard in Canada, at the very core of our rights and freedoms.

The JCCF expressed disappointment and stated that updates will be provided regarding “potential next steps”.

To read the Life Site News article written by Anthony Murdoch, click here