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Freedom of Assembly Tag

21 Apr 2021 Let the Church be the Church Campaign

Posted at 10:47h in Campaigns, Fundamental Freedoms 0 Comments
38 Likes

It’s been over 13 months since the first Covid-19 restrictions were enacted across Canada. Since then, ARPA has launched targeted campaigns in British Columbia and Ontario and encouraged Reformed Christians in all provinces to use emails, phone calls, petitions, letters to the editor, and social media to ask their provincial leaders to allow church leadership to make the decision on how Christians can safely gather for corporate worship. We argued that corporate worship is an essential activity and that these restrictions are unconstitutional. At various times and places, we have pointed out that the...

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19 Mar 2021 BC Supreme Court Upholds COVID-19 Restrictions on Worship Services

Posted at 12:13h in Fundamental Freedoms 0 Comments
8 Likes

In a disappointing ruling released last night, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of British Columbia upheld the prohibition of in-person worship services. These restrictions were first implemented on November 19th, 2020, and continue to this day. Many Christians will be very disappointed, perhaps even angry, with this decision. Reformed Christians have an earnest, deeply-held belief that they must both respect the governing authorities and gather regularly to worship with other believers. The absolute prohibition of in-person worship services placed many Christians in an unfair dilemma, making it very difficult...

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09 Mar 2021 Recap of the Beaudoin v. B.C. Court Hearings on B.C.’s Prohibition of Corporate Worship

Posted at 12:03h in Fundamental Freedoms, Legal Cases 0 Comments
0 Likes

Last week, the BC Supreme Court spent four days (March 1-3, 5) hearing the case of Beaudoin v. BC, where three BC churches are challenging the Provincial Health Order prohibiting in-person worship services. The case was heard by Chief Justice Hinkson, the Chief Justice of the BC Supreme Court, and now we await his decision. The Chief Justice had rejected an injunction request from the government in mid-February when the province tried to force the closure of churches that continued to hold in-person worship services contrary to the public health orders. The...

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05 Feb 2021 Why is ARPA Canada Advocating for In-Person Worship Services During a Pandemic?

Posted at 15:07h in Fundamental Freedoms 0 Comments
13 Likes

Those who follow ARPA Canada’s work will know that government-imposed COVID-19 restrictions have received a lot of attention from us over the last year. We expect this to continue into 2021 as we seek to intervene in a variety of court cases with a specific focus on the restrictions limiting or prohibiting in-person worship services. Almost a year has passed since the first lockdowns in March of 2020, and Christians in most of the provinces in Canada are currently forbidden by their provincial government from taking part in corporate worship. Through...

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21 Jan 2021 Constitutionality of Worship Service Restrictions Challenged in British Columbia

Posted at 11:59h in Fundamental Freedoms 0 Comments
5 Likes

A petition filed by the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms on behalf of a variety of individuals challenges the British Columbian Public Health Orders that prohibit all in-person worship services. The names of the petitioners are not published to avoid undue attention, but it includes several pastors of churches currently gathering despite the restrictions. The petitioners are asking the Court for a declaration that the Orders forbidding gathering for worship are an unjustifiable infringement of Charter guaranteed freedoms and therefore should be set aside. There are also eight separate $2,300...

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