![]() He was released March 22 after pleading guilty, and was fined $1,500.Ĭoates challenged the one charge he still faces of violating the Public Health Act during his cross-examination. ![]() Pastor James Coates of GraceLife Church testified on the first day of his trial Monday, and complained multiple times about how difficult it was to speak with a mask on.Ĭoates, 41, spent a month in the Edmonton Remand Centre after he violated a bail condition not to hold church services that officials have said ignored measures on capacity limits, physical distancing and masking. Thanks in advance for your contribution to this cause.An Alberta pastor accused of leading church services in violation of public health orders says the COVID-19 pandemic has been blown out of proportion by the government and the media. “I’m raising money to benefit Pastor James and GraceLife Church of Edmonton, to do good as Galatians 6:10 exhorts us to, and any donation will help make an impact. He has stood on the word of God faithfully, courageously and uncompromisingly as a man of God when all around him men falter and fail,” read the fundraising page, in part. “Coates has been a rare and refreshing voice of courage in these times. The church said it initially shifted to online services when COVID-19 first began and returned to in-person gatherings on June 21, 2020.Īs part of the effort to help Coates and GraceLife, a GoFundMe page was created by John Klassen to pay for legal fees the pastor and the church accrue. In February, the church released a statement addressing the ramifications of COVID-19 and the destructiveness of shutting down churches indefinitely. “With COVID-19 cases increasing and the more easily-transmitted and potentially more severe variants becoming dominant, there is urgent need to minimize spread to protect all Albertans,” AHS said in a statement at the time, according to The Epoch Times. Last month, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police charged the church as an entity for holding worship services in February that exceeded the limit of 15% capacity. Officials have accused GraceLife of violating public health guidelines on multiple occasions by holding in-person worship services where attendees allegedly did not social distance or wear face masks. But when asked to produce this medical and scientific evidence at trial, the Alberta government declares itself incapable of doing so.”Ī little over a week ago, police placed metal fencing around the church ahead of last Sunday’s worship, the Edmonton Journal reported. The group added: “The Alberta government supposedly has enough medical and scientific evidence to shut down hundreds of small businesses, pushing many of them into bankruptcy, and to cancel over 20,000 medically necessary surgeries, and to force Albertans into a third lockdown. “After 13 months of violating Charter freedoms, the Alberta government refuses to present evidence in support of lockdowns in court, and unfortunately the courts have permitted the government to delay facing accountability in regard to Charter violations,” said Justice Centre President John Carpay. ![]() The pastor spent one month and six days in jail before his release on March 22, “because he would not sign an agreement to stop pastoring his church according to the congregation’s beliefs,” noted the Justice Centre, which is representing the Coates and his church. The court added that the challenge to the constitutionality and legality of those orders will be heard at an unknown later date, the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms said in a statement released Friday. Deena Hinshaw, the chief medical officer of health for the province, during the May 3 trial of Coates from GraceLife Church in Edmond, the Provincial Court in Stony Plain has ruled. | YouTube/Rebel NewsĪ Canadian court ruled earlier this week that the government of Alberta will not be required to show scientific evidence backing up its COVID-19 restrictions during the upcoming trial of Pastor James Coates, who was arrested and jailed for holding in-person worship gatherings.Īlberta will not be required to produce scientific evidence supporting the orders of Dr. Pastor James Coates of GraceLife Church in Edmonton, Alberta, speaks to the Canadian news outlet Rebel News on March 29, 2021.
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