Thu Oct 5, 2023 – 3:13 pm EDTThu Oct 5, 2023 – 4:18 pm EDT
EDMONTON, Alberta (LifeSiteNews) –– In another “complete victory” court ruling in favor of one’s right to practice their faith uninhibited, an Alberta pastor and her church will no longer have to pay $80,000 in COVID health fines after an appeals court acquitted them of three obstruction convictions made under the province’s Public Health Act.
On Monday, the Court of Appeal of Alberta acquitted pastor Tracy Fortin and her Church in the Vine of Edmonton, Alberta, of their COVID convictions. Those convictions came in April of 2022 after Fortin allegedly prevented an Alberta public health officer from accessing the church during a religious service to see if they were complying with COVID dictates.
At the time, churches in the province were restricted to 15 percent capacity, and masks were mandated.
The news was celebrated by Fortin’s lawyer as a “complete victory.”
“What started out as a long, tough fight with very little hope ended in a complete victory,” said The Democracy Fund-backed lawyer James Kitchen, who served as Fortin and Church in the Vine’s legal counsel, in comments sent to LifeSiteNews.
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