Kelowna church vows to fight fine

Unnamed organizer hit with $2,300 fine

Members of a Kelowna church fined $2,300 for holding in-person worship services will fight the ticket in court, their lawyer says.

People attending Harvest Ministries International Church on Harvey Avenue believe their right to worship together is protected by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

They will make that argument in court should prosecutors bring charges against them for failing to pay the ticket.

“The public health orders in B.C. that have prohibited in-person religious gatherings are quite directly contrary to some fundamental protections that you have under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms which protect and allow for faith communities to gather for worship,” the church’s lawyer, Marty Moore, said Wednesday in an interview.

Moore suggested it was against the Charter for the government to ban worship services as a measure to try control the spread of COVID-19 while allowing many businesses, such as supermarkets and shopping centres, to remain open.

“For many Canadians, attendance at a weekly worship service is essential. Maybe even more essential than in-person grocery shopping, which can be done online,” Moore said.

“There will be a constitutional challenge filed against the public health order that prohibits in-person worship services,” Moore added.

“And tickets that are issued will be taken to court, and the judges will be asked to weigh in on this issue of, are these orders and enforcement of these orders discriminatory against faith communities? And is it in accordance with the freedoms of assembly, conscience, and religion?”

Police went to Harvest Ministries Church at 300-1634 Harvey Ave. twice in December in response to complaints about a gathering that violated the public health order. The first time, on Dec. 6, police took an “educational approach” and left without ticketing anyone, Kelowna RCMP announced on Wednesday.

Police went back to the church on Dec. 19 in response to another complaint, and on that occasion issued the $2,300 ticket.

Organizers of some religious services in the Lower Mainland have also been fined for having in-person worship services.

But the Dec. 19 incident was the first time for such a fine in Kelowna, where police say most churches have switched to holding only online services.

“We want to acknowledge the vast majority of our community who are complying with the public health orders,” Kelowna RCMP Supt. Kara Triance said in a statement. “This has been a challenging year, however now is not the time to gather.

“We will continue to work with our partners with the provincial health authorities and B.C. Prosecution Service as we actively investigate and take necessary enforcement action on reports of non-compliance with the provincial health orders,” Triance said.

When provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry suspended inperson religious services, she said such gatherings had contributed to the spread of COVID-19.

“I will always be accused of doing too much or not enough, that’s our life right now. I do not believe, at all, that we are affecting people’s ability (to practice religion) under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms,” Henry said Nov. 30.

“This is about taking those measures to protect people from this virus and no more so than when we come together as a community indoors right now that puts people at risk,” Henry said.

But Moore said it’s “clearly discriminatory” for the government to ban the holding of worship services conducted under COVID19 protocols such as requiring people to physical distance while allowing most businesses to operate.

“Of course, you have big box retailers open. I’ve seen signs that allow them capacity of 911 persons at a single time, coming and going,” he said. “But if you have 50 people, socially distanced, contact traced, etc., at a religious worship service, that’s something the government says must be prohibited to reduce the spread.”

“These are questions, if they’re not going to be addressed by our politicians or Dr. Bonnie Henry, that a court will need to weigh in on,” Moore said.

“Many faith communities do feel that this is in fact discriminatory treatment.”