Judge rules on case of B.C. pastor ticketed for violating COVID-19 restrictions

The Free Reformed Church in Chilliwack is pictured.

A B.C. judge has found a pastor in the Fraser Valley violated COVID-19 restrictions by hosting a service in 2020 – but stopped short of handing down a conviction and levying a fine.

Judge Andrea Ormiston ruled on the matter earlier this month, and the decision – which followed a four-day hearing in August – was posted online this week.

John Koopman, a pastor at the Free Reformed Church of Chilliwack was handed a $2,300 fine on Dec. 6, 2020. At that time, a provincial health order prohibited organizing, hosting, or attending in-person events and gatherings was in effect, which included "worship or other religious service."

Ormiston, when explaining her reason for not entering a conviction, noted that Koopman has launched a challenge of the order, arguing that "the law itself is a violation of constitutionally protected rights." The matter of the violation ticket, Ormiston said, will be revisited when that matter concludes.

"Pastor Koopman’s conscience dictated that he must continue to lead in-person worship services on behalf of the church and encourage others to attend, and in so doing he has violated the order by hosting an event," the judge's decision reads.

THE SERVICE

The court heard that a member of the local RCMP detachment attended the church on the Sunday in question because he saw a post on its website that led him to believe that a service was planned.

The officer himself was turned away at the door, but he told the court that he observed others entering. Roughly an hour after he arrived, he said he saw 39 people leaving the building. The officer's evidence also included a video posted online.

"Pastor Koopman delivers a sermon to people who cannot be seen but are at times heard singing," the judge wrote.

"During the sermon Pastor Koopman directly addresses the controversy of gathering in person to worship at that time. As he said then … coming together to serve God is a compulsion – a divine call that cannot be ignored or superseded by laws of the state. In Pastor Koopman’s words, "when we cannot meet together, we cannot meet with God.'

The judge found that – given the number of people in attendance, the video evidence, and Koopman's own testimony – there was "no doubt" an event occurred.

THE PASTOR'S ROLE

Koopman's defence counsel argued that the pastor neither organized nor hosted the event. The judge agreed – but only in part.

Ormiston found that while Koopman occupied a leadership role in the church, there was not sufficient evidence to show he was "personally responsible for organizing the event in question."

However the judge found his participation went beyond that of an attendee or a speaker,

"Liability as a host is different from an organizer in the sense that a host does not necessarily have to deal with the logistical planning for an event. However, a host in some way provides for the comfort and well-being of their guests even if they do not involve themselves with making the necessary arrangements," the decision reads.

"This is consistent with Pastor Koopman’s self-described role within the church. As he explains it, the role of a preacher is to meet various needs of those gathered. This support can be spiritual, or it can be quite practical in terms of welcoming and encouraging new members or providing for basic things such as food or gas for someone’s car."

WAS THE EVENT PERMITTED?

Koopman's counsel also argued that the event itself was not a religious service but rather could be considered a support group, one of the in-person gatherings exempt from the provincial health order.

 

The judge was not persuaded.

 

"While a worship service undoubtedly provides support to people, legislators have differentiated between these gatherings in the wording of the order. It would be an absurd interpretation of the legislation to include worship services in the meaning of support group," she wrote.

 

Further, Ormiston said that permitted events were subject to a number of conditions and that there was no evidence that the gathering on Dec. 6 had complied with all those requirements.

 

According to online court records, Koopman is next due in court Dec. 21.