in Featured World News Alberta politicians violated provincial health act with COVID restrictions, judge rules
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In a case involving three individual citizens and two Baptist church communities that assembled during the COVID-19 pandemic, Judge Barbara Romaine declared that their rights were infringed upon by the government.
(LifeSiteNews) — A Calgary judge ruled that Alberta politicians made decisions regarding COVID-19 restrictions without authorization, violating the province’s health act.
On Monday, Justice Barbara Romaine released a 90-page decision that declared certain regulations infringed upon the rights of citizens that are protected under the Alberta Bill of Rights (ABR) and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The case involved three individual citizens and two Baptist church communities who alleged that their rights to peaceful assembly, religious practice and protest of government action were violated through the enforcement of certain regulations related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Province of Alberta and its Chief Medical Officer of Health (CMOH) at the time, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, were listed as respondents in the case.
Though she conceded to certain allegations and dismissed others, Romaine ultimately ruled “that the impugned Orders [mandated COVID-19 regulations] were ultra vires the [Alberta] Public Health Act.”
“The Public Health Act requires that decisions with respect to public health orders must be made by the CMOH, or her statutorily authorized delegate,” the judge explained. “The final decisions implemented by the impugned Orders in this case were made by the cabinet of the government of Alberta or by committees of cabinet.”
“While the CMOH made recommendations and implemented the decisions of the cabinet and committees through the impugned Orders, she deferred the final decision making to cabinet,” actions that are “not permitted by section 29 of the Public Health Act.”
Although Romaine ruled that some restrictions “infringed” some rights, she maintained that they were “not unconstitutional” because they were “enacted pursuant to a valid legislative purpose.”
The regulations being challenged included restrictions on nonresidents visitors, indoor and outdoor gatherings, quarantine and visiting those in isolation, business closures and school closures for certain grade levels.
The religious communities involved in the lawsuit — Heights Baptist Church and Northside Baptist Church — were both found to have experienced “infringement” of their Charter rights surrounding indoor gatherings and private residence restrictions. Similar violations were conceded to against the individual plaintiffs, in addition to allegations related to the quarantine regulations.
The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms reacted to the decision in an August 1 press release, saying that the group was “pleased” with Romaine’s ruling to “invalidate” the orders issued during the pandemic. They also noted that the case paves the way for similar lawsuits challenging unjust COVID regulations to be ended in favor of other churches and citizens practicing their constitutional rights.