TRIAL DATE SET FOR PASTOR CHARGED OVER COVID-19 RULES
A trial date has been set for a jailed Alberta pastor who is accused of holding Sunday services that violated COVID-19 rules. James Coates with Gracelife Church near Edmonton did not appear in court Wednesday when a date for a threeday trial was set to start May 3. He was arrested last week and remanded in custody after refusing to agree to bail conditions. Coates was charged this month for violating Alberta’s Public Health Act and breaking a promise to abide by rules of his bail release, which is a Criminal Code offence.
The church has been holding services that officials say break public-health regulations. John Carpay, president of the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, the organization representing Coates, said lawyer James Kitchen plans to file an application with the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench seeking the pastor’s release until the trial begins. Carpay said Kitchen will argue that the provincial government needs to be held accountable for COVID-19 rules that infringe on constitutional rights.
A quarantine screening officer who allegedly demanded cash from a woman before sexually assaulting her at her home faces related charges, police said on Wednesday. The accused had been trained by the Public Health Agency of Canada as a designated screening officer under the Quarantine Act, Halton regional police said. According to a police statement, the accused was doing a quarantine compliance check at a home in Oakville, Ont., on Feb. 18. “The accused informed the victim that they were in violation of the quarantine order and demanded that a fine be paid in cash,” police alleged. “When the victim declined to pay, she was sexually assaulted by the accused.” Police said they arrested a man they identified only as Hemant, 27, of Hamilton, on Tuesday. He has been charged with sexual assault and extortion. Police also said he worked for one of four private security firms hired to help enforce isolation orders. Police refused to disclose the name of the security company that employs the man, but said he had been suspended.