The Provincial Court of B.C. has vacated two fines issued against a pastor who took part in worship services in contravention of COVID-19 lockdown rules.
Justice Andrea Ormiston amended the court’s record on Jan. 8 after the Crown acknowledged the two penalties imposed on pastor John Koopman of the Free Reformed Church in Chilliwack, B.C., had already been voided by the Insurance Corporation of B.C., which oversees provincial offence fines.
Koopman was previously found guilty of participating in in-person worship services in 2020 and 2021, violating a ban established by B.C. Provincial Health Officer Bonnie Henry. Koopman received two tickets for these violations, totalling $460.
B.C. banned most in-person religious services in November 2020, saying it was a necessary measure to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. During that same period, bars, restaurants, gyms, salons, and other venues were generally permitted to operate in-person while implementing safety protocols.
“We know there’s transmission events that happen even with the best laid plans of people, and when you’re in a church or a mosque and you’re with those 50 people, we know that there’s that temptation to have that social interaction,” Henry said in November 2020 while responding to questions about the prohibition on in-person worship. “We have started to see transmission in a number of different religious events, so we need to take a pause for now.”
Koopman felt “a religious conviction to continue offering in-person worship services,” according to the JCCF, and reopened the church “while complying with all other public health orders,” such as masking and social distancing.
Meanwhile, orthodox Jewish synagogues in the province were granted exemptions allowing them to hold indoor services during the period when indoor worship was otherwise prohibited. Traditional Jewish law prohibits the use of electronic devices, including livestreaming or virtual services, on the Sabbath and certain holidays, making in-person attendance the only way to conduct worship. This was the key reason cited in granting their exemption requests.
A request for accommodation by Koopman and several other pastors as part of a constitutional challenge eventually resulted in Henry allowing the churches to hold outdoor services. Her allowance came two days before their constitutional challenge was to be heard on March 18, 2021.
Chief Justice Christopher Hinkson dismissed the churches’ challenge during the hearing, saying Henry had already given them permission to worship outdoors. Hinkson’s ruling was upheld by the B.C. Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada later denied the churches’ leave to appeal.
Koopman was found guilty on Nov. 8, 2022, of violating gathering restrictions. He then filed an abuse-of-process application, which accused Henry of discriminating against certain faith groups by granting exemptions to hold in-person worship to some but not others. Justice Ormiston allowed this application to move forward in September 2023, with hearings beginning in June 2024.
The JCCF successfully negotiated with the Crown during the hearings to reduce fines against churches who had contravened Henry’s order, including against Koopman, bringing overall fines down from $40,000 to $12,000.
The B.C. Ministry of Health did not respond to a request for comment from The Epoch Times by publication time.
