Two Ont. churches seek to appeal decision on COVID-19 restrictions to Supreme Court

After their appeal was dismissed by the province’s highest court, two southwestern Ontario churches are now trying to take their case against COVID-19 restrictions to the Supreme Court of Canada.

Trinity Bible Chapel in Woolwich and the Aylmer Church of God are seeking to appeal a decision upholding restrictions placed on religious gatherings during the pandemic, the legal firm representing the churches, Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms said in a release.

Trinity Bible Chapel’s elders and the church were fined several times for hosting indoor sermons and defying pandemic restrictions. In 2021, during a province-wide stay-at-home order, religious gatherings were capped at just 15 per cent capacity. In April 2021, the region reported 300 people were gathering inside for a Sunday service.

In March 2021, the churches filed a constitutional challenge saying the measures violated the right to freedom of religion and assembly.

That challenge was dismissed by an Ontario judge a year later.

A subsequent appeal from the churches was also dismissed.