Judge rules Manitoba's public health orders were necessary, reasonable and justified
A Manitoba judge has ruled the province’s public health orders were neither unconstitutional nor an undemocratic delegation of power.
Court of Queen’s Bench Chief Justice Glenn Joyal released the ruling Thursday in two decisions stemming from a Charter challenge brought forward by a group of churches.
The decision found the restrictions were a reasonable response to COVID-19 based on credible science.
Lawyers for the applicants, a group made up of seven Manitoba churches and three individuals, argued the province’s COVID-19 restrictions, specifically those in effect from November 2020 to January 2021, infringed on their Charter rights to hold religious, public and private gatherings.
Joyal ruled, as conceded by the province, that “the impugned public health orders do indeed limit and restrict the applicants’ rights and freedoms.”
But in a 156-page decision Joyal wrote they, “are constitutionally justifiable as reasonable limits under s.1 of the Charter.”
Joyal concluded in a separate decision the delegation of power to the chief public health officer, in this case Dr. Brent Roussin, is a constitutional and democratically legitimate way of responding to an evolving and rapidly changing pandemic.
“I am persuaded by the evidence of Manitoba’s experts and I find that the credible science that they invoked and relied upon, provides a convincing basis for concluding that the circuit-break measures, including those in the impugned public health orders, were necessary, reasonable and justified,” Joyal ruled.
Karen Busby, a University of Manitoba law professor, said it’s an outcome several legal experts expected following a two-week trial held this past May.
“There was a legitimate reason to limit the freedom of religion in this context and that’s not a surprise, that’s pretty consistent with what’s been held in other cases across the country,” Busby said.
The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms which represented the applicants said it’s disappointed in the decisions and the unwavering authority given to public health officials. It’s still reviewing the ruling and is considering an appeal.
The organization came under fire in July after Joyal called a special hearing where it was revealed a private investigator had been hired to follow him while he was presiding over the case. Joyal told court at the time the situation would have no impact on his ruling.
Cameron Friesen, Manitoba’s Justice Minister, said in a statement the decisions uphold the government’s position: that the public health orders do not violate the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
“Those measures are demonstrating their value even now, as we continue to see a stabilizing of the daily case counts, even while other jurisdictions are experiencing very significant case spread and hospitalizations,” Friesen said.
Joyal ruled he found no convincing evidence less intrusive measures might have been equally as effective in responding to the real-time emergency and the impact on Manitoba’s health care system.
Manitoba lawyer Allison Pejovic, who’s representing the applicants, said Thursday any appeal would be restricted to dealing with the measures that were in place when the case was filed.
Pejovic said any challenge to new restrictions on unvaccinated people would require a new legal challenge.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Live updates: What star witness in Trump hush money case has said on the stand so far
The star prosecution witness in Donald Trump's hush money trial took the stand Monday with testimony that could help shape the outcome of the first criminal case against an American president.
Police release 3D images of young child found in an Ontario river two years ago
Police have released a three-dimensional image of a young child whose remains were discovered in the Grand River in Dunnville, Ont. almost two years ago.
Kamala Harris drops F-bomb during White House live-stream
U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris used a profanity on Monday while offering advice to young Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders about how to break through barriers.
When you have a moment's notice to evacuate, what do you take?
Knowing what to have at home, or take with you for an evacuation, can be useful and even life-saving.
Western University researchers unlock potential 'cure' for ALS
New research out of London, Ont.’s Western University is shedding light on a potential cure for ALS, in which the targeting of the interaction between two proteins can halt or fully reverse the disease’s progression.
Canucks' Soucy suspended 1 game, Zadorov fined $5,000 for post-game crosschecks on McDavid
A Vancouver Canucks defenceman has been suspended for a game and another was handed a hefty fine after a scrum broke out at the end of Game 3 against the Edmonton Oilers Sunday night.
'Judge Judy' Sheindlin sues for defamation over National Enquirer, InTouch Weekly stories
'Judge Judy' Sheindlin sued the parent company of the National Enquirer and InTouch Weekly on Monday for a story that she said falsely claimed that she was trying to help the Menendez brothers get a retrial after they were convicted of murdering their parents.
Wildfire smoke drifts across Canada, over parts of U.S., prompting air quality advisories
Air quality advisories are in effect across Western Canada as smoky conditions plague some areas, according to the latest forecasts. Here's where.
'A great victory for the industry': Taxi drivers celebrate ruling that found City of Ottawa negligent in allowing Uber to operate
An Ontario Superior Court judge has ruled that the City of Ottawa was negligent in its enforcement of the city's taxi bylaw when it allowed Uber to begin operating in 2014, harming the city's established taxi industry.