BC drops 24 tickets against pastors issued for violating COVID-19 orders

British Columbia prosecutors have dropped two dozen COVID-19 violations against three pastors in Chiliwak, British Columbia, who continued personal worship in violation of the province’s public health orders.

The Center for Justice for Constitutional Freedoms, which represents pastors, said the fines would be a total of $ 55,200. Each ticket carries a $ 2,300 fine.

The center said in a press release that police have started issuing church tickets to disregard health orders for December 2020 services, and the three pastors have collected 66 tickets among themselves.

“They have no way to pay the pastor’s salary. It’s a huge financial stress,” said Marty Moore, a lawyer at the center.

The Crown released seven tickets against Pastor John Kupman of the Free Reformed Chilivak Church, 11 tickets against Pastor James Butler of the Free Grace Baptist Church, and six tickets against Pastor Timothy Champ of the Valley Heights Community Church.

Dan McLaughlin of the British Columbia Attorney’s Office (BCPS) said charges would be dropped if there was no significant likelihood of conviction and / or prosecution in the public interest.

Prosecutors said in a statement that after an investigation, Crown’s lawyers found that “the standard of assessment is no longer met” for 24 of the violations, but noted that such cases remain in court. The BCPS declined to comment further because of the other cases.

The center says there are still more than 20 unsettled tickets against pastors and churches in the Fraser Valley and plans to defend them “vigorously.”

Moore said his main argument against tickets was that there was no excuse for banning personal worship if, at the same time, the province allowed people to attend fitness classes and dine out.

“This is really a discriminatory act against people of faith,” he said.

Despite conducting personal services during the height of the pandemic, Moore said there was no transmission of COVID-19 to any of the services held in the three churches.

CBC News also contacted the Ministry of Health for comment.