The Manitoba Court of Appeal has quashed an appeal request from seven churches to have some of the province’s former COVID-19 restrictions declared invalid.
The Appeal Court says a Court of King’s Bench judge did not err in his analysis that the restrictions were necessary to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and allowable under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Lawyers for the churches argued public health orders in 2020 and 2021 that temporarily closed in-person religious services, then permitted them with caps on attendance, violated the Charter.
The churches’ lawyers told the Court of Appeal that the trial judge erred in not fully examining whether less restrictive rules could have achieved the same goal.
Health officials testified in 2021 that strict public health orders were needed to quickly contain the spread of COVID-19 as the number of cases spiked and hospitals were strained.
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Manitoba Court of Appeal dismisses churches’ challenge to COVID-19 rules
