After more than two years of legal wrangling, Alberta Crown prosecutors intend to ask the court to acquit Pastor James Coates and Grace Life Church of all charges that were laid during the pandemic, The Epoch Times has learned. This follows a court decision on July 31 that ruled public health orders issued in the province were invalid and enacted outside the powers of the province’s Public Health Act.
h/t James MacMaster
I am happy that the charges are going to be dropped.
And I would make two points. First, they won on a technicality because Dina Hinshaw, instead of acting alone on her own authority, asked the members of the legislature for advice. Second, have they removed the legislation that would allow a petty bureaucrat like Dina Hinshaw to make these kinds of decisions with impunity and no fear of prosecution for idiotic decisions? No, they have not. Ontario has similar legislation, brought in by Conservatives and it still exists. Once laws are enacted, they are like a tick, and even if they do a lot of damage, and cause no end of trouble for citizens, removing them is almost impossible. So this situation will arise again and the state will use the same process, without the legal hiccup, to punish its citizens and there will be no relief.
So while this is a victory, it is Pyrrhic. And the overbearing process of the law was the punishment and next time, it will be worse and without legal relief because the powers that be are communist asses and unrelenting in their search for Utopian perfection that cannot be achieved.
Agreed. The process was the punishment.
You have hit the nail on the head. I’m from Saskatchewan. Our Public Health Act does not give such powers to a medical health officer, but the government gave it to him anyway. We continue this fight in Saskatchewan (on appeal).
The bigger question though is whether or not the Public Health Acts and therefore any orders that are issued under its authority are Charter compliant. It seems passing strange that any legislation whether federal of provincial could seemingly override the Charter without being tested before hand. Strange that we would allow Charter rights to be completely walked over by one individual….a bureaucrat.
Art, I mean no disrespect, but the Charter of Rights and Freedoms clause 1b, the reasonable limits clause, allows our government to override any of your rights in a democratic society. Rights that are not absolute are no rights at all because they can be limited by any institution through legal or physical might when said institution declares the need. The treatment of Jordan Peterson makes my point emphatically.
Charter of Suggestions and Conveniences.
I know exactly what clause 1b says….but that’s the problem you see. The reasonable limits clause does NOT say that your rights can be “limited by any institution……” It doesn’t say that one bureaucrat determines what is considered “reasonable”.
The onus of proving a section 1 justification rests with the government, and the government should be prepared to adduce appropriate evidence.
The government always wins Art. C C is correct.
The law in Alberta is intended to allow the government to take steps in a medical emergency that are medically necessary. They have officially appointed doctors with the medical training to assess medical necessity, and those doctors alone are given the authority to decide what’s necessary. Hinshaw testified that she made no decision, she was simply told what to do and did it. She either made no determination of medical necessity, or she determined these steps to be unnecessary and then took them anyway. Either way she acted outside of her authority and the result is void.
The Charter considers the effect of laws or government actions. Void actions, and void attempts at making law, are void and have no effect. The Charter cannot apply to them. Charter invalidity is NOT the same thing as unconstitutionality. The Charter can only apply to constitutionally valid actions, and the actions here weren’t valid.
They’re not searching for ‘utopian perfection’ , they’re flexing their dictatorial muscles.
I agree with your assessment.
But I’m happy the good Pastor is out of prison, so
https://tenor.com/en-CA/view/applause5-applause-entertainment-gif-26409502
Amen
Now turn around and file a lawsuit.
Who can you sue, the government? So taxpayers will cough up the coin if damages are awarded.
If the individuals who grossly overstepped their boundaries and enacted illegal ( and completely ineffective ) measures could be held liable it would be a great thing – but is it possible?
Danielle smith has the power to correct the legislation.
But will she?
Down through history power has rarely voluntarily given itself up. It has to be wrestled away.
Quite apart from the legal nonsense Grace Life Church which Pastor Coates is head pastor is absolutely booming. It has multiple services on Sunday and they are all full to overflowing. I heard of a young man from Ontario who was recently baptized by Pastor Coates. The young man came to the church to protest the jailing of Pastor Coates even though he was not a Christian. He stayed in the church, became a Christian and was baptized along with 10 other people.
Good news!
Run you through the judicial wringer for a year or two than proclaim “meh…never mind”
Splendid.
This “problem” can be solved by turning the tables and counter attacking but… cuckservatives. Turning cheeks, not stooping, bow ties, etc.
In Canada we have allowed the CCP – Communist Cesspool Party – Like the U.S. Uniparty to grow out of control. In the U.S. because of their 2nd admentment they still have the ability to stop the destructive spiral, in Canada we’re lost.
No legal remedies…
Yeah, that always works out well for the ‘protected.’
Wait until damages from the vaccines become public knowledge….
Information about alleged vaccine damages are “misinformation” according to the gummint. They are actively trying to pass legislation to criminalize spreading “misinformation”. Soon anyone claiming vaccine damage will have their bank account frozen just like Freedom Convoy supporters.
I hope to live long enough to see how many lamp posts must be decorated in order to stop these attacks on our rights and freedoms. I don’t believe any more reasonable measures can succeed and I wouldn’t bet a nickel they will be taken.
Great news!
Tangentially related: I live in über-compliant downtown Toronto, Ontario, a province who’s founding narrative (“Loyal She Remains”) was grounded in a servile act of obedience. Not only are many of the people here way too deferential to even the most minute manifestation of authority, they adopt a tone of supercilious preeningly superiority vis-a-vis anyone who dares to challenge their deference (which many Ontarians take to be a sign of their own moral superiority)
Anyway, I had to go to the eye doctor today and get a bunch of routine tests done and I refused in the waiting room to put on The Mask, made a principled argument to les petit fonctionnaires running the clinic that I had elected not to wear it, and gosh darn it, I got away with!!! I had all the procedures done mask free!
Small victories. We are need to start pushing back more.
Backbone!! Great example.
Very happy for Pastor Coates.
I hear you about Toronto. Have family there. You describe them well. The whole situation fed their assumption that if/because we are the country bumpkins we know nothing, and are to be shunned, since we did not live in fear from the outset of the plandemic.