Manitoba pastor who openly defies pandemic restrictions tells court he has no authority to enforce rules
No authority "based on our Christian convictions" to limit church capacity, order mask-wearing, court told
The religious figure perhaps mostoutspoken against Manitoba's pandemic-era restrictions has told courtit's not his place to enforce public health orders.
Church of God pastor Tobias Tissensaid Monday he does not have the jurisdiction to limit people from going to his church, orforcethem to wear masks.
"We have no authorityscripturally-based and based on Christian convictions to limit anyone from coming to hear the word of God," he told theCourt of Queen's Bench in Winnipeg.
Tissenwas cross-examined Mondayto start a two-weekhearing challengingManitoba's right to impose public health restrictions.
The minister of the RM of Hanover church, south of Steinbach, is fightingthelockdown measures,along with seven rural churches.
The group is arguing the public health orders which have curtailed or banned church attendance at various times violatetheCharterfreedoms of conscience, religion, expression and peaceful assembly.The province's lawyers statethe limits on personal freedoms area reasonable measure to curb the spread of COVID-19.
Court of Queen's Bench Justice Glenn Joyalacknowledged the high public interest in the case. The Calgary-based Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) is also leading similar court challenges in Alberta and B.C.
Pastor attended anti-lockdown protests
Tissenand his churchhavebeen fined repeatedly for violating Manitoba's public healthorders. The Church of God hasignoredcapacity limits and held indoor services when they were prohibited.
He confirmed to the court that he's attended various anti-lockdown protests, including one in Alberta where he didn't followManitoba's self-isolation rules upon his return.
He also said he would attenda protest outside the courthouse that afternoon.
The roughly 150 people in the crowdexceeded the current10-person capacityfor outdoor gatherings. The rally includedspeakers from Alberta and B.C, but it isn't known if they observed Manitoba's 14-day isolation requirement for people who enter the province for non-essential purposes.
The Manitoba government said enforcement officers were monitoringthe rally and collecting video evidence to support any tickets that are dispensed. Winnipeg police members were also present.
During the hearing,social media video of one of Church of God's indoor services was presented as evidence in court. At one point, Tissen objected to the video being displayed as he said it was dragging his church members, including children, and adding to the "trauma, stress and harassment" they've endured.
When asked if his churchwaslegally allowed to holdan indoor serviceon thatdate, Jan. 31, 2021,Tissen said the closure was"required by men," but notby God.
The minister testifiedhis church hasnot prevented anycongregants from observing public health orders while worshipping, such as wearing masks. Anybodywho issick or hasflu-like symptoms istold to stay home from church, he said.
The court also heard Monday fromJay Bhattacharya,a professor of medicine and economics at Stanford Universitywho has been a vocal opponent oflockdowns stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Heather Leonoff, a lawyer for the province, questioned the expertise of the churches' witness. She noted that although Bhattacharya has a PhD in economics and a medical degree, he is not licensed to practice medicine.
At the start of the hearing,Joyal said he would be"very disappointed and somewhat irritated" by any suggestion the public isn't welcome to watch, which was a complaint heard at the protest.
He saidthe 55 members of the public who received a link to watch the online conference is more than most courtrooms can support in person.Virtual attendance was limited due to concerns aroundbandwidth for the video conference.
Last December, Joyal rejected a case brought by Springs Church in Manitoba to hold drive-in services while there were restrictions on public gatherings and in-person religious events.
That church faced more than $32,000 in fines for services at the time of the hearing.
Drive-in church services are now allowed under the province's health orders.
WATCH | Manitoba churches challengeCOVID-19 restrictions in court:
With files from Karen Pauls, Cameron MacIntosh and The Canadian Press
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