A lawyer for an Alberta pastor accused of violating COVID-19 rules says the province’s health agency decided to penalize the church leader as a way to censor him.
James Kitchen has told the trial of James Coates in Edmonton that his client was charged the same day he preached a sermon criticizing Alberta’s leadership on the pandemic.
Coates was ticketed on Dec. 20, 2020, under the Public Health Act after health inspectors said he held services at GraceLife Church that ignored capacity limits, physical distancing and masking.
The church in Parkland County, just west of Edmonton city limits, has been fenced off and guarded by 24-hour security for nearly a month, after AHS ordered it physically closed.
Kitchen says it’s not a coincidence that Coates received a ticket on the same day he preached a sermon critical of the way Premier Jason Kenney was handling the COVID-19 crisis.
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The lawyer says health inspectors had come to multiple services before that and had noted violations of COVID-19 regulations in their reports.
He says inspectors had also come on the morning of Dec. 20 before Coates gave his sermon, but it wasn’t until after he was done preaching that RCMP officers showed up to ticket him.
Kitchen says public-health orders meant to curb the spread of COVID-19 have violated the pastor’s charter rights to freedom of expression, assembly and worship.
Kitchen is a lawyer with the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, an advocacy group representing Coates.
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COVID-19 health order violation trial begins for GraceLife pastor James Coates -
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Crowd gathers outside GraceLife Church west of Edmonton Sunday to protest closure -
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GraceLife Church closure protesters park vehicles on Enoch Cree Nation land without permission -
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Large crowd of GraceLife Church supporters try to take down temporary RCMP fencing -
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Calgary convoy heads to GraceLife Church in show of support -
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Crowd gathers outside fenced off GraceLife Church near Edmonton -
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Does GraceLife Church shutdown signal more enforcement in Alberta? -
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GraceLife Church fenced off as Alberta Health Service ‘physically closes’ Parkland County facility -
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AHS erects fencing around GraceLife Church west of Edmonton -
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Concerns flare over continued flouting of rules at GraceLife Church -
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GraceLife Pastor James Coates fined $1,500 and released from jail -
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GraceLife Church pastor to be released from jail, must pay $1,500 fine -
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Group representing Alberta pastor jailed for breaking COVID-19 rules says he’s being released -
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Group representing GraceLife pastor jailed for breaking COVID-19 rules says he’s being released -
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Judge rules GraceLife Church pastor will remain behind bars -
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Edmonton court hears bail review for GraceLife Church pastor -
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Despite pastor behind bars, members of GraceLife Church near Edmonton continue to defy COVID-19 rules -
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COVID-19: Alberta’s top doctor discusses situation surrounding GraceLife Church near Edmonton -
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Alberta pastor accused of breaking COVID-19 health rules remains behind bars after refusing to follow conditions
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