Tag Archives: Alberta Health Services

U.S. senator Josh Hawley wants Canada on religious freedom watch list over pastor COVID-19 arrests

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U.S. senator Josh Hawley wants Canada on religious freedom watch list over pastor COVID-19 arrests

Bob Weber The Canadian Press Published 2 days ago Updated 2 days ago Comments Text Size % buffered 00:00

Supporters gather outside court as Pastor James Coates of GraceLife Church appears in court after he was arrested for holding Sunday services in violation of COVID-19 rules, in Stony Plain, Alta., on Feb. 24, 2021. JASON FRANSON/The Canadian Press

A U.S. senator has asked that Canada be investigated for violating religious freedom over the arrests of Alberta pastors accused of flouting COVID-19 restrictions.

In a letter released Thursday, Missouri Republican Josh Hawley asked his country’s Commission on International Religious Freedom to consider putting Canada on its special watch list.

“I am troubled that our Canadian neighbours are effectively being forced to gather in secret, undisclosed locations to exercise their basic freedom to worship,” Mr. Hawley wrote.

“Frankly, I would expect this sort of religious crackdown in Communist China, not in a prominent western nation like Canada.”

Judge dismisses charter application of Alberta pastor on trial for violating health orders

Mr. Hawley refers in his letter to the arrests of Alberta pastors James Coates and Tim Stephens.

Mr. Coates spent a month in the Edmonton Remand Centre after he violated a bail condition not to hold church services that officials said were ignoring COVID-19 measures on capacity limits, physical distancing and masking. He was released March 22 after pleading guilty and was fined $1,500.

Mr. Coates, who is a pastor at GraceLife Church in Spruce Grove, has argued provincial regulations meant to curb the spread of COVID-19 infringed on his and his congregants’ constitutional right to freedom of religion and peaceful assembly.

Earlier this month, a judge ruled his religious freedoms under the Charter were not violated.

Mr. Stephens remains in remand after being arrested last week following repeated public complaints over an outdoor service that officials say broke public-health orders. Calgary police and Alberta Health Services allege that Stephens of Fairview Baptist Church chose to keep holding services without respecting orders on physical distancing and capacity limits, even after his church had been twice ordered closed.

Litigation director Jay Cameron of the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, which is representing Mr. Stephens, has accused Alberta Health Services in a statement of being “engaged in an intentional act of public deception and abuse of authority in arresting pastor Stephens and others.”

Political Prisoner Kevin J. Johnston Denied Bail Again: How A Repressive System Keeps Non-Violent Dissidents in Jail by Denying Bail

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Political Prisoner Kevin J. Johnston Denied Bail Again: How A Repressive System Keeps Non-Violent Dissidents in Jail by Denying Bail

Calgary mayoral candidate Kevin J. Johnston denied bail again

Mon., June 14, 2021, 1:52 p.m.

Kevin J. Johnston must remain behind bars until his trial on July 12, a second judge has ruled. Johnston, a mayoral candidate in Calgary, is charged with causing a disturbance for refusing to wear a mask and becoming verbally abusive to mall employees, police have said. (Kevin J. Johnston/Facebook - image credit)
Kevin J. Johnston must remain behind bars until his trial on July 12, a second judge has ruled. Johnston, a mayoral candidate in Calgary, is charged with causing a disturbance for refusing to wear a mask and becoming verbally abusive to mall employees, police have said. (Kevin J. Johnston/Facebook – image credit)

Calgary mayoral candidate and anti-masker Kevin J. Johnston has been denied bail a second time and will stay behind bars until his trial on July 12.

Johnston is in custody in connection with charges of causing a disturbance and breaching a court order after he showed up at the Core Mall in downtown Calgary on May 22 and tried to enter stores without a mask.

When asked to put one on, he became verbally abusive to employees, police said.

Days after his arrest, a provincial court judge denied bail to Johnston, finding he was too high a risk to reoffend.

On Monday, Johnston’s lawyer asked Court of Queen’s Bench Justice David Gates to release his client, but the judge denied the application.

Defence lawyer Ian McCuaig argued that by the time his client’s trial begins, Johnston would arguably have served more than a fit sentence.

But Gates disagreed, suggesting the “very unique circumstances” of the alleged crimes taking place during a pandemic, at a time when Calgary was seeing some of the highest infection rates in the world, was an aggravating factor.

The judge also pointed out that Johnston and three others, who are his roommates, according to McCuaig, were filming their interactions with store employees.

“This was not an innocent shopping trip with his four roommates,” said Gates.

AHS suing Johnston

Johnston is also facing an assault charge in B.C. and a hate crime charge in Ontario.

In December, Johnston moved from Ontario to Alberta and began a campaign of denying there was an ongoing pandemic and railing against public health restrictions.

Aside from his criminal charges, Johnston is also facing a civil contempt charge for promoting large gatherings against Alberta Health Services (AHS) orders, which require physical distancing, masking and limits on gatherings.

Johnston’s contempt hearing is set to take place Wednesday.

He has also been served a $1.3-million lawsuit for more than a dozen videos posted threatening AHS employees.

Last week, AHS served Johnston with the defamation lawsuit following months of threats against its employees on various web broadcasts and online video streams.

The statement of claim notes 15 times Johnston posted hateful commentary about two health inspectors in particular, including “suggesting the plaintiffs would likely be ‘stabbed’ or put in a ‘wheelchair’ and would deserve it.”

The Christian-hating Calgary Cops Arrest Another Christian Preacher for Holding a Service

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The Christian-hating Calgary Cops Arrest Another Christian Preacher for Holding a Service

Churches are currently limited to a maximum occupancy of 15 people, in order to slow the spread of COVID-19

Sarah Rieger · CBC News, May 16, 2021)

Pastor Tim Stephens of Fairview Baptist Church in southeast Calgary was arrested on Saturday, after months of breaking pandemic health restrictions. (Fairview Baptist Church/YouTube)

Calgary Pastor Tim Stephens has been arrested, after months of encouraging church congregants to break public health rules. 

Police said Stephens was arrested for organizing a church service on Sunday at Fairview Baptist Church in southeast Calgary, in violation of a Court of Queen’s Bench Order that requires organizers of events to comply with public health restrictions.

Stephens was proactively served a copy of the court order, which was obtained by Alberta Health Services, last week.

“The pastor acknowledged the injunction, but chose to move forward with today’s service, ignoring requirements for social distancing, mask wearing and reduced capacity limits for attendees,” police said in an emailed release. …

Congregants are seen gathered outside of the Fairview Baptist Church in southeast Calgary on Sunday, shortly before the arrest of Pastor Tim Stephens. (Helen Pike/CBC)

“We continue to ask those who may be considering organizing or participating in any outdoor events to ensure they are familiar with public health order requirements and to do their part to prevent further spread of the virus,” police said.

The church leader has previously been fined and ticketed for defying public health regulations by holding over-capacity gatherings and not enforcing mask use.

Churches are currently limited to a maximum occupancy of 15 people, in order to slow the spread of COVID-19 in Alberta. The province has the highest active case rate in the country, with more than 22,000 active cases.

“Restricting the church to 15 people — which essentially restricts the church from gathering — is against the will of Christ and against the conscience of many who desire to worship the Lord of glory according to his word,” Stephens wrote in a blog post following the updated restrictions earlier this month, added that he planned to continue to not follow safety precautions. …

Stephens said in the blog post that his church has seen no coronavirus transmission. CBC News has reached out to AHS to ask if any cases have been tied to the church.

Police are seen outside of Fairview Baptist Church on Sunday. (Helen Pike/CBC)

A January inspection by Alberta Health Services at the church found only two of approximately 75 attendees were wearing masks, the pastor and church staff were unmasked and rows in the auditorium were full, with people sitting side-by-side in rows less than two metres apart. 

The inspection also found that there was no cleaning or disinfecting of high-touch surfaces between services.

Alberta has seen increased enforcement against COVID-19 rule-breakers this month, after bringing in a new protocol to allow for a more coordinated response between police and health agencies for targeting those repeatedly not complying with health orders.

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The War Against Christians & Dissidents Intensifies in Kim Jong Kenny’s Police State: Calgary Mayoralty Candidate Kevin J. Johnston Arrested for Attending END THE LOCKDOWN PROTEST

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The War Against Christians & Dissidents Intensifies in Kim Jong Kenny’s Police State: Calgary Mayoralty Candidate Kevin J. Johnston Arrested for Attending END THE LOCKDOWN PROTEST

Police arrest Calgary mayoral candidate Kevin J. Johnston for attending illegal gathering

(Calgary Herald, May 15, 2021)

Police said in a news release Saturday evening officers arrested Johnston for attending an illegal public gathering against a provincial health order issued earlier this month. …

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The illegal gathering took place Saturday morning, police said, though the service did not release details on the nature of the gathering and could not be immediately reached by Postmedia on Saturday evening.

On Friday, an Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench judge granted AHS the restraining order against Johnston, prohibiting him from a wide array of activities, including recording AHS officials, being within 100 metres of any AHS public health officer and uttering any threats against AHS employees.

The arrest Saturday was not under the recently granted restraining order, however. Johnston was arrested under a separate Court of Queen’s Bench Order obtained by Alberta Health Services on May 6, which applies to gatherings held in contravention of the public health orders.

Other public health scofflaws including Street Church preacher Artur Pawlowski and Whistle Stop Café owner Chris Scott have also been charged under the order.

“This order imposes compliance with public health restrictions on organizers of events, including masking, physical distancing and attendance limits,” police said in Saturday’s statement.

Trudeau’s Medico-Stalinist Police State at Work –Pastor’s Wife Returning from U.S. Kidnapped by Calgary Cops & Sent to a Secret COVID Detention Centre

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An Edmonton pastor may have found out the hard way Thursday night about Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s new travel restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trudeau announced Friday morning all returning travellers into the country must go to a government isolation centre where another COVID-19 test will be taken. If a passenger tests negative, they will be allowed to return home for a strictly-enforced another 11 days. Those testing positive will be taken to another government facility for the rest of their 14-day quarantine.

Trudeau said it will cost each traveller about $2,000 for the cost of the test, accommodations and food.

The new rules weren’t even announced yet Thursday night, but it appears officials at YYC were ready.

“(My wife Nikki) arrived in Calgary tonight and when she got there she was greeted by a Police Officer and an AHS official,” wrote Pastor Chris Mathis on his Facebook page.

“They rejected her results and told her she needed to go immediately to an isolation facility. She was told if she resisted she would be arrested. She called me, and I immediately asked to talk with the officer. I talked with both a police officer and the AHS official, they reiterated what she had said to me. I asked for the address of where she would be, they said they could not give me the location address as it was confidential.

“I asked for their names, again they would not give me any information or their names. I pushed, I questioned, I tried to fight but they said they would arrest her if she resisted. They would not give me any information on where they were taking my wife.

“She was not allowed to get her vehicle from the airport, she was immediately put in a white van surrounded by police escorts and taken to an unknown facility that is under full surveillance and has security at every entrance and exit. You can imagine I am barely keeping myself together wondering what in the world has happened in our country in what seems to be overnight.”

Earlier, Trudeau also announced all Canadian airlines had agreed to cancel all the flights to sun and sand destinations until the end of April.

“We all agree that now is just not the time to be flying,” Trudeau said.

“By putting in place these tough measures now, we can look forward to a better time when we can all plan those vacations.”

All international passenger flights, including from the U.S., will land at the Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary and Montreal airports.

Global reported the government will be hiring private security firms to help with quarantine checks on returning travellers.

Dave Naylor is the News Editor of the Western Standard