Lawyers for the province’s Ministry of the Attorney General are responding today to arguments presented Monday and Tuesday that the province’s COVID-19 restrictions violate Section 2 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The challenge by the Church of God and Trinity Bible Chapel in Waterloo is being heard at the Elgin County Courthouse.
Yesterday, Josh Hunter, representing the Ministry of the Attorney General, showed the court a YouTube video taken at a Church of God service in Aylmer where parishioners were inside with no masks and no social distancing enforced in defiance of the province’s gathering limits.
On Day 2 Tuesday, Lisa Bildy, a lawyer for the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedom, argued evidence shows outdoor restrictions don’t make sense and “the Church of God, which has many acres of space, has many charges for outdoor services.”
The church was fined over $200,000 for outdoor services.
Hearings on the challenge were to wrap up today, however Justice Renee Pomerance advised there may be a need to continue on Thursday.
