Pastor Tim Stephens said he felt \u0022vindicated\u0022 Tuesday after a Calgary judge acquitted him of violating COVID\u002D19 health restrictions.
Provincial court Judge Allan Fradsham found the Crown had failed to prove Stephens didn’t maintain social distancing during services at the church on Feb. 28 and March 7, 2021.Sign up to receive the daily top stories from the National Post, a division of Postmedia Network Inc.By clicking on the sign up button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You may unsubscribe any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails. Postmedia Network Inc.
“All my personal matters have been dealt with so I feel vindicated,” Stephens told Postmedia. “It certainly speaks volumes of the overreach of government actions during COVID.”“I praise God because those heavy-handed measures only enhanced the gospel of Jesus Christ. For that, I rejoice.”Article content
In his written decision, Fradsham noted much of the evidence called at Stephens’s trial in September focused on whether the pastor took steps to ensure congregants during the two services maintain the two-metre distance required during gatherings at the time.Fradsham said the provision Stephens was charged with violating ordered “every person attending an indoor or outdoor location must maintain a minimum of two metres distance from every other person.
“I see nothing in the provisions of that particular order of the chief medical officer of health which imposed any legal obligation on Pastor Stephens to ensure, compel, or encourage compliance, by those attending the religious services he was conducting,” he said.Article contentHe said the church posted signage to alert people attending services of the measures in place, updating them as they changed.
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