Court dismisses case against N.B. pastor for holding services during COVID lockdown
A New Brunswick judge has dismissed a contempt of court case against a pastor accused of ignoring COVID-19 public health rules in 2021.
Chief Justice Tracey DeWare of the Court of King's Bench says in a Feb. 2 decision she was unable to conclude that a tent erected by Philip James Hutchings, pastor of His Tabernacle Family Church in Saint John, was "clearly and unequivocally" an enclosed space as defined by a provincial health order.
Defence lawyer Jonathan Martin says his clients are happy with the decision.
"This is a win for due process and also a win for government accountability against the drafting of vague regulations that provide limitless prosecutorial discretion," he said in an email.
In October 2021, authorities ticketed Hutchings and his associates for being in violation of the province's COVID-19 health order for holding weekly services inside their church. A month later, they tried to get around the rules by erecting a commercial tent with sidewalls, which were left open when the weather was warm but pulled down as it got colder, the decision says.
"Clearly a commercial tent with four sidewalls up cannot be considered an 'enclosed space' or 'public indoor space' on any interpretation given to the definition. Arguably, the commercial tent with four sidewalls down could fall with the parameters of an 'enclosed space,"' it says.
"However, as I write this decision, it is unclear to me when that occurs, and counsel for the applicant were unable to provide a clear answer to the question."
It is difficult for the court to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that in moving the services from the church to a tent, Hutchings and his church associates knew he was breaching the mandatory order, she said.
"I am unable to conclude that the commercial tent was 'clearly and unequivocally' an 'enclosed space' as described in the mandatory order, and as such, the respondents cannot be held in contempt."
The province's Health Department was not immediately available for comment.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 7, 2023.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
Majority of Canadians believe in life after death: Angus Reid survey
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.
MyPillow, owned by U.S. election denier Mike Lindell, formally evicted from Minnesota warehouse
A court ordered the eviction Wednesday of MyPillow from a suburban Minneapolis warehouse that it formerly used.