Dr. Bonnie Henry bans in-person worship services in British Columbia

In November 2020, British Columbia Provincial Health Officer (PHO) Dr. Bonnie Henry prohibited in-person worship services. At the same time, bars, restaurants, gyms, salons, and other venues were permitted to remain open for in-person services. Pastor John Koopman of the Free Reformed Church and other churches in the Fraser Valley felt a religious conviction to continue offering in-person worship services. They reopened their doors while complying with all other public health orders, including masking and social distancing. Meanwhile, Chilliwack RCMP were conducting surveillance on the church.

Between December 2020 and April 2021, Pastor Koopman was issued 23 tickets for contravening BC public health orders. Each ticket carried a $2,300 fine.

Dr. Bonnie Henry grants accommodation request of synagogues, denies requests of churches and mosques

On January 8, 2021, the Free Reformed Church and two other churches launched a constitutional challenge against the prohibition on in-person worship services. Pastor Koopman and other pastors then submitted an accommodation request to gather for in-person services, but their request received no response for several weeks. At the same time, her office had been responding within one or two days to accommodation requests from Orthodox Synagogues, granting them permission to gather indoors. During one week in February 2021, Dr. Henry granted synagogues permission to gather indoors on a Tuesday; she denied mosques permission to gather indoors on a Wednesday, and she told three churches that they could meet outdoors but not indoors on a Thursday.

Two business days before the Court heard their constitutional challenge, Dr. Henry’s office finally granted the churches limited permission to gather outdoors but not indoors, claiming that indoor gatherings were too risky. On March 18, 2021, Chief Justice Christopher Hinkson dismissed the churches’ challenge to the gathering restrictions in part because the PHO had already granted them permission to meet outdoors.

The BC Court of Appeal upheld Chief Justice Hinkson’s decision, and the Supreme Court of Canada later denied them leave to appeal.

Meanwhile, the Crown continued to prosecute Pastor Koopman and the other churches. On November 8, 2022, Pastor Koopman was found guilty of hosting an event in violation of the PHO’s gathering restrictions.

Prosecution of Pastor John Koopman risks undermining the integrity of the judicial process

On April 14, 2023, Pastor Koopman submitted an Application to the Provincial Court of British Columbia, arguing that the discriminatory actions of the Provincial Health Officer had made the continuation of his prosecution offensive to societal notions of fair play and decency and had brought the administration of justice into disrepute. In response, on May 10, 2023, the Crown argued that the abuse-of-process application should not proceed to an evidentiary hearing and that Dr. Henry and Deputy PHO Dr. Brian Emerson should not be subpoenaed as witnesses in the case.

From May 15-18, 2023, our lawyers presented arguments to Judge Andrea Ormiston that the abuse-of-process Application should proceed to an evidentiary hearing. Later, on September 6, Judge Ormiston denied the Crown’s Application to summarily dismiss the abuse-of-process Application because she found that there was “some evidence that the Provincial Health Officer preferred some faith groups over others.” Judge Ormiston found that, under the circumstances, it was not “manifestly frivolous” to think that the continued prosecution of Pastor Koopman “risks undermining the integrity of the judicial process.” However, Judge Ormiston declined to allow our lawyers to subpoena Dr. Henry or Dr. Emerson on the matter.

From December 4 to 7, 2023, at the Abbotsford Law Courts, our lawyers sought records of the accommodation requests received by the PHO and how she handled them. Our lawyers also sought records of communications the PHO received from BC politicians about prohibiting in-person worship services.

On June 13, 2024, a 10-day hearing commenced at the Chilliwack Law Courts. Our lawyers argued that Dr. Bonnie Henry granted preferential treatment to some faith groups over others when considering requests to be exempted from her total ban on in-person worship services. The churches argued that their prosecution for violating public health orders is an abuse of process and should be stayed. Our lawyers presented evidence that Dr. Henry acted dishonestly and in bad faith when banning in-person worship services in 2020 and 2021, granting immediate exemptions to synagogues while ignoring similar requests from Muslims and Christians.

“When government officials, including public health officers, exercise coercive government power, it is essential that they use that power honestly, in good faith and without discrimination against people based on irrelevant consideration, including their particular religious faith,” stated lawyer Marty Moore. “We believe that the evidence in this case will show that the Provincial Health Officer’s treatment of faith communities during 2020 and 2021 violated the rule of law and that the prosecution of pastors and churches in this context undermines public confidence now only in our public health officials but also in our justice system.”