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This is going to be a tough week for those Albertans with strong emotional and religious connections to Christmas.
It’s not called the most wonderful time of the year for nothing.
But Christmas has not been “cancelled,” as two southern Alberta churches alleged Monday in a Calgary court. Heights Baptist in Medicine Hat and Northside Baptist in Calgary sought temporary permission for churches to hold services at up to 30 per cent capacity.
The first flaw I see in this argument is the rather arbitrary selection of 30 per cent as the number.
If less than 30 per cent is a violation of parishioners’ rights, how is 30 per cent not equally a violation of the other 70 per cent’s right to assemble?
Everything you need to know about COVID-19 in Alberta on Tuesday, Dec. 22
Alberta will make a one-time exemption to its gathering rules for people who live alone, allowing them to visit another household once between Dec. 23 and 28.
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Posted: Dec 22, 2020 10:32 AM MT | Last Updated: December 22, 2020
Transport Canada says the majority of tickets and warning letters issued for refusing to wear a mask on a flight involves Alberta. (David J. Phillip/The Associated Press)
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Alberta s chief medical officer of health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, updates media on the COVID-19 situation in Edmonton on Friday, March 20, 2020. Two southern Alberta churches and three individuals are to be in a Calgary court today to argue that the province s COVID-19 restrictions cancel Christmas and infringe on their constitutional rights. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
CALGARY - A judge rejected a request Monday from two Alberta churches and three individuals to temporarily suspend selected public-health rules to save Christmas.
The measures limit Christmas celebrations to individual households, restrict weddings and funerals to 10 people and prohibit outdoor gatherings.
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney announced the stricter rules to try to bring down stubbornly high COVID-19 cases and to ease pressure on hospitals.
A Prince Albert church will contest in court the large fine it received from government authorities in October for violating public health orders and provincial COVID-19 guidelines.
The Alberta lawyer who will represent Full Gospel Outreach says religious groups and street churches in particular have been targeted by authorities during the pandemic and the case will revolve, in part, around the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Meanwhile, the church’s pastor says the government has been “unbalanced” in its enforcement of the laws and argues health officials don’t understand the importance of spiritual gatherings.
The church’s legal costs will be paid for by the far-right political online media outlet Rebel News, which has run a crowdfunding campaign to give legal assistance to those who, as they say, “have received a lockdown ticket.”