Charges Dropped Against Pastor Who Allegedly Violated Reopening Ontario Act: JCCF

Pastor Michael Thiessen, left to right, then federal MP Derek Sloan and People's Party leader Maxime Bernier wait to hold a press conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on April 15, 2021, to discuss their "End the Lockdown Caucus." THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Ontario’s Crown prosecutor has decided to drop all charges against a pastor who allegedly violated the province’s Reopening Ontario Act during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF), which represented the pastor, said the scheduled Sept. 14, 2024, trial of Michael Thiessen of Grace Baptist Church in Alliston, Ont., “will not be proceeding.”