Legal Advocates Challenge City of Abbotsford’s Permit Denial for US Christian Musician’s Event

Christian musician Sean Feucht of California preaches to the crowd during a rally at Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza outside the Arizona State Capitol in Phoenix, Ariz., on Oct. 19, 2024. Rebecca Noble/AFP via Getty Images

A civil liberties advocacy group says it has sent a “warning letter” to the City of Abbotsford regarding the B.C. municipality’s decision to deny a permit for U.S. Christian musician Sean Feucht’s event.

Several public venues in Canada have denied permits to Feucht, who has been touring Canada and the United States throughout the summer. He was scheduled to be in Abbotsford on Aug. 24, however, the city said it will not issue the permit due to safety concerns.

City spokesperson Melissa Godbout previously told The Epoch Times there was concern the event would draw “significant numbers of protestors and counter protesters,” making safety considerations “extremely difficult to mitigate.”

Godbout said the city found no permit conditions could “adequately address the potential risks to the public.”

The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) says it has sent a letter asking the city to reverse its decision. JCCF says the city is engaging in “unlawful censorship” and legal action could follow.

JCCF said the city informed organizers it needed “safety letters” from Abbotsford’s police and fire departments for the event. However, the group said the city also noted that the police chief and fire chief  will not issue the letters because they believed the “potential risks were beyond their departments’ ability to handle.”

The City of Abbotsford acknowledged receiving the letter, which it said was “currently under review,” but told The Epoch Times it “does not comment on active legal matters.”

JCCF said its lawyers instructed city officials to preserve all records related to the event for possible future legal action.

“The cancellations of these worship events by government entities across Canada has exposed a grotesque lack of government knowledge and appreciation for Canada’s fundamental freedoms, including those of religion, expression and peaceful assembly,” JCCF lawyer Marty Moore said.

Moore said “additional legal action is not off the table.”

The letter to the city noted that the event organizer had not been provided evidence of “safety risks” from the city.

“Protestors thus far have been peaceful and almost entirely law abiding and that a modest police presence during the tour has been more than enough,” it said.

It also noted that Feucht’s songs and lyrics were protected by the Charter, and that Abbotsford has hosted a youth LGBT event and Islamic event in public venues.

“In our diverse, multicultural, and free, and democratic society, it is not the state’s duty to ensure that everyone agrees with the views and beliefs expressed by others in a public space,” the letter said. “Rather, it is the state’s duty to ensure that everyone has the right to express their views and beliefs in the public square.”

Previous Permit Denials

Feucht was scheduled to perform in Winnipeg on Aug. 20, but the municipality declined a permit for the concert, which was to be held outdoors at Central Park.

City of Winnipeg spokesperson Julie Dooley previously told The Epoch Times in an email that the city determined the event presented “operational challenges,” noting that forecasting attendance for the free event was not possible.

Several other Canadian municipalities and Parks Canada in Nova Scotia had pulled permits for Feucht’s events in July, including in Charlottetown, P.E.I., and Moncton, N.B., citing security concerns. Permits were also revoked in Quebec City and Gatineau, where officials cited the artist’s views on gender ideology as the reason for the cancellations.

Feucht, who describes himself on social media as a missionary, musician, and author, is known for his outspoken views on abortion and gender-related issues.

JCCF said it was organizing lawsuits against the municipalities, adding that they had violated Canadians’ rights of expression and peaceful assembly by cancelling the permits.