CHILLIWACK, BC: The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms announces that two convictions entered against Pastor John Koopman for attending in-person worship services during Covid lockdowns have been vacated by the Provincial Court of British Columbia.
Pastor Koopman serves the Free Reformed Church in Chilliwack and was charged with participating in worship services in 2020 and 2021, when British Columbia’s Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, imposed a total prohibition on in-person religious worship.
During that same period, bars, restaurants, gyms, salons, and other secular venues were permitted to operate in-person.
On January 8, 2026, Justice Andrea Ormiston corrected the court record after the Crown acknowledged that two tickets issued against Pastor Koopman had already been voided by the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) under section 18 of the Offence Act. As a result, the convictions entered on those tickets were legally invalid, and Pastor Koopman has been relieved of $460 in fines.
This case shows the Crown acting responsibly to correct an error, while the British Columbia government has yet to acknowledge the serious injustice of banning worship services entirely.
Constitutional lawyer Marty Moore said, “Sadly, we have yet to see Dr. Henry and the BC government take responsibility for the harm they caused by imposing unreasonable and overbroad Covid mandates and restrictions on British Columbians’ fundamental freedoms and liberty.”
Pastor Koopman welcomed the correction but said broader accountability remains lacking.
“The Crown’s acknowledgement of their error is welcomed. Dr. Henry and the government should carefully evaluate their entire approach, for this is only one of many errors which were made, the greatest of which is the restriction of the public worship of our God,” said Pastor Koopman.
