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
Quebec man who threatened Trudeau, Legault online sentenced to 20 months in jail
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Parliamentary report on Emergencies Act decision is 18 months past due — and counting
The erstwhile group of senators and MPs studying the federal government's invocation of the Emergencies Act over the "Freedom Convoy" was supposed to present its findings in December. December of 2022, that is.
Drone footage shows Ukrainian village battered to ruins as residents flee Russian advance
The Ukrainian village of Ocheretyne has been battered by fighting, drone footage obtained by The Associated Press shows. The village has been a target for Russian forces in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.
Egypt media cite progress in truce talks as Israel downplays chances of end to war with Hamas
A delegation of the Palestinian militant group Hamas was in Cairo on Saturday as Egyptian state media reported "noticeable progress" in ongoing cease-fire talks with Israel while an Israeli official downplayed the prospects for a full end to the war.
Bystander livestreams during Charlotte standoff show an ever-growing appetite for social media video
Saing Chhoeun was locked out of his Charlotte, N.C., home on Monday as law enforcement with high-powered rifles descended into his yard and garage, using a car as a shield as they were met with a shower of gunfire from the direction of his neighbor's house.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.