Toronto church challenging COVID-19 lockdown rules as ‘unconstitutional’
Posted December 9, 2020 10:41 am.
A Toronto church is going to court to challenge the provincial order that limits gatherings for religious services as unconstitutional.
Pastor Peter Youngren of the Toronto International Celebration Church has filed an application in the Superior Court of Justice. He says the current provincial order limiting in-person services to no more than 10 people violates religious freedoms and does not represent a tailored response to the current COVID-19 crisis.
In a video statement, Youngren says all they are looking for is equality under the law.
“We are not COVID-19 deniers. We have carefully adhered to all the government’s requirements regarding safe distancing, wearing masks and only operating at a 30 per cent capacity. However, we are deeply concerned about equal treatment under the law.”
Under the current lockdown rules, indoor gatherings of more than 10 people are prohibited while non-essential businesses are entitled to operate at 50 per cent capacity with social distancing measures in place.
Youngren adds that his auditorium seats almost 1,100 people and that a maximum attendance of 10 “doesn’t seem equitable.”
“At a time when many are suffering with isolation, depression and a sense of despair, the most loving thing a local church can do is to open its doors wide open while maintaining public health standards.”
Youngren notes that Catholic churches and a Jewish group brought a similar action in New York State, challenging those restrictions, and it was ultimately approved by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Youngren is seeking to have the courts make a ruling by this weekend and that they be exempted from compliance with the law until their full Charter challenge can be heard.
The Canadian Civil Liberties Association says it intends to apply as intervenors in the proceedings.
“The limitation on this Charter right has the proportionality of a sledgehammer. This constitutional challenge is much needed to engage the judicial branch in our democracy, so we will seek to be heard by the Court,” CCLA’s executive director Michael Bryant said.
