Ontario churches' charter challenge of pandemic lockdown measures set for court in September

Officials from three Ontario churches fighting provincial restrictions on in-person servicesduring COVID-19 lockdowns will get their day in court this fall.

Trinity Bible Chapel in WoolwichTownship, The Church of God in Aylmer and Wellandport United Reformed Church in West Lincoln will have their constitutional challengeheard together over three days in a St. Thomas courtroom starting Sept. 27,a Kitchener judge ruledMonday.

The three churches argueprovincial legislation that limitsthe size of religious gatherings contravene the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

"Although our clients would have preferred their own day in court for their constitutional challenge, there are now several of these cases across the province and it makes some sense to have them heard at the same time,"Lisa Bildy,a lawyer with the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms,said in an email on Tuesday.

Bildy said it'sunfortunate the court date isn'tuntil the fall because it "is a long time to wait for the government to prove that its unprecedented and seemingly unending police-enforced restrictions on the normal activities of Ontarians are justified."

The court's decision means the governmentcan file one joint set of affidavits to the court and any witnesses for the province would only be cross-examined once.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of the Attorney Generaloffice said in an email, "As these challenges are before the courts, it would be inappropriate to comment further."

Limit on people at services

Under the province's current stay-at-home order that took effect last month, churches can have no more than 10 people at services, either indoors or outdoors.

Trinity Bible Chapel, north of Waterloo, had its doors locked by the courts after the church continued to hold in-person services despite the order.

The doors were locked on May 1 after the ministry sought a civil contempt of court order because the church held services on April 25 in contravention ofthe Reopening Ontario Act.

Justice John Krawchenko ruled on May 6 that the doors would remain locked until a sanction hearing for the church is heldorthe province allows churches to hold gatherings at 30 per cent capacity.

The church's pastor took part in an anti-lockdown march on Sunday that saw a group of about 100 people walk from Waterloo to Kitchener.

The Church of God in Aylmer held services this past Sunday, and police said more charges will likely be laid.

While it's unknown exactly how many people were inside the church, Aylmer police Deputy Chief Nick Novacich said at least 120 vehicles were parked outside the church.

"We are enforcing what we can currently," Novacich told CBC News, adding officers were in the area gathering evidence for court.