Temporary injunction sought against Alberta COVID-19 restrictions at Christmas

CALGARY – A ruling is expected Monday afternoon as lawyers attempt to force an injunction and bring an end to COVID-19 restrictions in Alberta.

Two southern Alberta churches and three individuals argue that the province’s COVID-19 restrictions “cancel Christmas” and infringe on constitutional rights.

They are seeking an injunction to temporarily stay select public-health rules brought in by the Alberta government earlier this month.

The applicant’s lawyers claim a wide variety of things ranging from conspiracy theories that tests are innefective and nobody who is healthy dies of COVID-1 to saying that the restrictions are causing a much worse crisis than the virus itself

They also feel that Christmas is being cancelled and this will be traumatizing for years to come

But the lawyers representing the province said there’s no proof here that freedom of consience or religion are being broken and the restrictions fall well within a provision to protect public health

Very little evidence was presented by the applicants even though the burden is on them to prove that restrictions are more harmful, and it fell mostly within the realm of hypotheticals

The judge expressed some concern about being asked to reject expert advice from the Chief Medical Officer of Health.

The measures, introduced earlier this month, 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.

James Kitchen, a lawyer for the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, said the restrictions violate the charter of rights and were imposed without consultation or review.

Kitchen says Alberta’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, has taken away people’s right to choose how they want to spend the holidays.

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