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
BREAKING Bob Cole, veteran CBC broadcaster and former voice of 'Hockey Night in Canada,' dead at 90
Bob Cole, legendary CBC broadcaster and former voice of Hockey Night in Canada, has died. He was 90.
Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction overturned by N.Y. appeals court
New York's highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction, reversing a landmark ruling of the #MeToo era in determining the trial judge improperly allowed women to testify about allegations against the ex-movie mogul that weren't part of the case.
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
CTE: Researchers believe widespread brain injury may contribute to veteran suicide rate
Researchers are working to better understand if some Canadian military veterans may be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE -- a disorder previously found in the brains of professional football and hockey players after their death.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
New deep-water channel allows first ship to pass Key bridge wreckage in Baltimore
The first cargo ship passed through a newly opened deep-water channel in Baltimore on Thursday after being stuck in the harbor since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed four weeks ago, halting most maritime traffic through the city's port.