The Provincial Court judgment found Church in the Vine, northwest of Edmonton, and a pastor was guilty of six counts of obstructing the work of a public health inspector.
This Edmonton church and one of its pastors were convicted last Wednesday of six times violating Alberta’s public health law.
The lawyer representing them, James Kitchen, expects these beliefs. This is not a big surprisehe says.
According to court documents, the church and the pastor blocked the work of a public health worker three times, on March 7, March 14 and June 6, 2021.
Usually, the public health inspector showed up at the Church service on Sunday morning and said he wanted to attend.said the lawyer. The pastor said no, and of course, when you did that, you triggered section 71 of the Public Health Act. It stipulated that its inspectors could intervene at almost any time and at their leisure.
At a church service last Sunday, the pastor recounted the outcome of the verdict to the congregation.
When we first came out of the courtroom, I think we were surprised by themexplained the pastor in the video of the service, broadcast online.
We said, “Hey, we’re at fault.”
He added, in front of the congregation, that the guilty verdicts motivated him.
That’s the verdict of the people, he said. Whenever the judgment of men does not correspond to the word of God, it is simple. This is a lie. And we don’t get it.
The verdict will be determined on May 25. The church and the pastor face fines of up to $ 2.2 million. They plan to appeal this decision.
A fundraising campaign is underway with the goal of raising nearly $ 1 million.
There is information from Janice Johnston
Source: Radio-Canada
