Aylmer Church of God seeks to take fight against COVID rules to Supreme Court

Two Southwestern Ontario churches that defied temporary public health laws for indoor and outdoors gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic are seeking to take their fight against the restrictions to the Supreme Court.

The Aylmer Church of God and Trinity Bible Chapel in Waterloo have filed an application in the Supreme Court of Canada seeking leave to appeal a decision by

Ontario’s highest court to uphold a judge’s decision that pandemic capacity limits were constitutionally sound, the Justice Center for Constitutional Freedoms said Thursday.

“We are disappointed in the result at the Court of Appeal. But we are optimistic that the Supreme Court of Canada will see the national importance of the issues raised in this case and hear our appeal,” lawyer Rob Kittredge, who has represented the churches in their legal challenges, said in a news release from the center .

“We maintain that the religious gathering restrictions imposed by the province of Ontario went further than what was necessary to manage the spread of COVID in the province,” he said.

A lightning rod of far-right protest during the COVID-19 pandemic, Aylmer’s Church of God began holding large in-person services beginning in early 2021.

Trinity Bible Chapel also disobeyed the Reopening Ontario Act gathering restrictions and held large services beginning in December 2020, just as restrictions were re-introduced during the surge of the Omicron variant.

The repeated blurring of the law led to charges and, ultimately for the Church of God, a

temporary locking of the doors

and orders to pay $274,000 in fines and costs.

Both churches brought motions to set aside court orders, arguing the province went too far in orders that restricted gatherings to as few as 10 people and infringed on religious freedoms.

A year ago, Superior Court Justice Renee Pomerance said in a written decision that while the temporary laws did interfere with religious freedom, they were “reasonably and demonstrably justified” in the face of an unprecedented public health crisis and efforts to stop the spread of COVID -19.

The churches went to the Ontario Court of Appeal, arguing in a hearing in December 2022 the judge erred in several areas, including in her analysis involving other constitutional rights.

The appeals court dismissed the arguments and agreed with Pomerance, noting she “did not downplay the negative effects experienced by the appellants, including the impact on the psychological wellbeing of the congregants” and their ability to worship.

Church of God Pastor Henry Hildebrandt, who became a leading figure in the movement opposing the government’s handling of the pandemic, said in the release the church has no choice but to fight the restrictions.

“When fundamental freedoms – given to us by our Creator and guaranteed in our Constitution – are under attack, we are obligated to stand up and withstand the attack,” he said.

“This was never about defying our government, this was always about defending the freedom to worship and assemble without interference in Canada for all citizens. We didn’t pick this fight, our governments unfortunately did.”