GraceLife Church is fighting back after governments across Canada spent months waging war on churches, preventing the exercise of Charter-guaranteed rights and freedoms to worship, associate, and assemble, according to the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms.
In a powerful 30-minute video released on June 9, the Canadian legal advocacy organization revealed that GraceLife Church has filed legal action against the government of Alberta, the Minister of Health, the Chief Medical Officer of Health, and Alberta Health Services.
“The freedom to maintain religious beliefs, and peacefully assemble in person, are permanent and fundamental features of a society that aspires to remain free and democratic,” the video states.
Adding, “Constitutionally guaranteed rights are not just theoretical. They cannot be cast aside just because the government declares a public health threat.”
The Justice Centre has filed for an application to stop and suspend the restrictions on worship and all enforcement against GraceLife Church.
Authorities in Alberta seized the churches facilities earlier this year, installing a double fence around the grounds in an effort to enforce a closure order that was issued in January.
James Coates, the pastor of GraceLife Church, was also arrested and jailed for five weeks in a maximum-security prison after he was accused of violating public health protocols by keeping his church doors open to a needy public.
The church has now been forced to gather in secret, making it the first underground church in Canada’s history.