Canadian church fined eighty-three thousand dollars for in-person worship
A church in Canada has been fined $83,000 for holding an in-person worship service attended by more than ten people and has continued to resist the restrictions imposed by the Reopening Ontario Act that places strict limits on indoor and outdoor gatherings.
According to a blog post published last week by Pastor Jacob Reaume, Trinity Bible Chapel of Waterloo, Ontario, was fined by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice for holding the service.
At issue was the church’s refusal to stop holding services in January, even after being ordered by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice to halt gatherings of more than ten people in adherence to a COVID-19 ordinance limiting in-person gatherings.
According to Reaume, the fine was broken down to him and another pastor each owing $5,000, a third pastor owing $4,000, church elders each owing $3,000, the church itself owing $15,000, and $45,000 in legal fees.
Trinity Bible is one of several churches filing litigation against restrictions on in-person worship gatherings, both in Ontario and other provinces of Canada.
Source and image: christianpost.com
