Third jailed Canadian pastor to walk free after spending three days in prison
Pastor Tim Stephens was arrested after holding an indoor church service which went against Alberta’s health rules.
(LifeSiteNews) — The third Canadian Christian pastor to be jailed for defying COVID-19 health rules will be released after a judge yesterday agreed to let him out so long as he abides by a now-amended May 6 injunction order issued by the Alberta Health Services (AHS).
Pastor Tim Stephens of Fairview Baptist Church in Calgary, Alberta, was arrested in front of his family and then jailed on Sunday, May 16, after holding an indoor church service which went against the provincial government’s rules.
Stephens and his church have for months been under surveillance by AHS, the Calgary Police Service, and city bylaw officers because they have not bowed to government rules which limit worship congregation size and mandate masks. Additionally, Fairview Baptist was visited on multiple occasions by AHS and police.
According to the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF), the legal group representing Stephens, AHS had wanted to keep him in jail until he agreed to “consent to the violation of his Charter rights and freedoms by Alberta’s public health orders.”
The JCCF noted that Stephens was arrested based on a May 6 court injunction issued by Associate Chief Justice Rooke, which was directed at the owner of Whistle Stop Café in Mirror, Alberta, who had defied government health orders and opened for dine-in service.
“The May 6 injunction does not apply to Pastor Stephens, nor did it apply to him at the time of his arrest. His arrest and current detention are illegal,” said lawyer and JCCF President John Carpay. “Alberta Health Services knows that the May 6 injunction, which originally applied to all Albertans having notice of this injunction, was amended by Associate Chief Justice Rooke on May 13. Since then, this injunction has applied only to Whistle Stop Café and certain named or affiliated individuals.”
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