Churches in Canada are going underground

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Not in China - but in Canada.

Some Provincial Govts in Canuckistan are forcing churches to screen congregants on Sunday mornings for their Vaxx Passports. No Vaxx, no church.



The government has already stated officially that the vaxx is not a religious requirement and therefore NO religious exemptions will be accepted.

Faith-based communities prepare for New Brunswick proof of vaccination policy



By Tim Roszell Global News



Provincial health officials have identified faith-based gatherings as sources of a large number of recent cases in a surge of COVID-19 infections in New Brunswick.



The government’s website listing possible COVID-19 exposures lists more than a half-dozen churches in locations around the province.



Premier Blaine Higgs said Monday that Health Minister Dorothy Shephard has met with several faith-based organizations since last week to work with them on ensuring a 90-per cent vaccination rate among their members.



The 90 per cent figure is the number Higgs identified as the province’s new target for full vaccinations.


Higgs said he expects faith organizations to adhere to New Brunswick’s incoming proof of vaccine policy.



In an email to Global News, Father Owen Burns, Episcopal Vicar for Evangelization and Parish Renewal with the Diocese of Saint John, said the policy applies to weddings, funerals and other gatherings, not Sunday Mass.



He said parishes will survey members on their vaccination status.



“This survey will be distributed at Masses this coming weekend, September 25-26, to be completed prior to leaving Mass and left with the parish,” Burns wrote. “Parishes will compile and forward the results to the diocese. They will also be required to keep a record at the parish.”



The Archdiocese of Moncton is taking a blanket approach.



In a letter on its website dated Sept. 17, Archbishop Valery Vienneau said their churches would require full vaccinations for “any gathering inside our churches, rectories or community centres under our supervision,” including Sunday Mass.



Nova Scotia’s proof of vaccination policy, which does not apply to places of worship, will be implemented Oct. 4.


Halifax privacy lawyer David Fraser believes New Brunswick may be opening itself up to legal challenges by requiring places of worship to uphold the policy.



“You don’t have — and I don’t have — a constitutional right to go to a restaurant,” Fraser said. “There’s no constitutional right to go to a gym, and so restricting access to those places based on vaccination status can be a more straightforward calculus with respect to public health.



“With faith-based communities, it’s different, because your right to practice your religion is in fact protected in our (Canadian) Charter of Rights and Freedoms.”



Global News contacted the Department of Health for clarification on the policy, but messages were not returned.



New Brunswick’s proof of vaccination and public indoor mask policies come into effect Sept. 21 at 11:59 p.m.


Video at link

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No medical or religious exemptions for B.C.'s vaccine passport system

Andrew Weichel

CTVNewsVancouver.ca Reporter and Senior Producer

Updated Aug. 24, 2021 10:58 a.m. EDT

Published Aug. 23, 2021 6:10 p.m. EDT


VANCOUVER - People who can't get vaccinated against COVID-19 for medical reasons won't be exempt from B.C.’s upcoming vaccine passport system, nor will those who choose not to get immunized for religious reasons.


Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry, who announced the requirement Monday afternoon, said those individuals will have to miss out on discretionary services and activities, such as dining in restaurants and attending live sporting events, until the proof-of-vaccination requirement is lifted next year.



"This is a temporary measure that's getting us through a risky period where we know people who are unvaccinated are at a greater risk, both of contracting and spreading this virus," Henry said Monday.


"Those rare people who have a medical reason why they can't be immunized … they will not be able to attend those events during this period."



The same goes for people who refuse to get immunized because of a religious conviction, though officials noted the passport system does not apply to worship services.



"We've worked really closely with faith-based groups across the province over this past very long year-and-a-half, and we have in place guidelines that they are using to help support faith-based services coming back," Henry said.



The B.C. government is giving the public a grace period of until Sept. 13 before the system comes into effect. At that point, residents will be expected to have at least one dose of vaccine to take part in things like indoor weddings, conferences and a host of other discretionary activities and events.



By Oct. 24, full immunization will be required. The requirement has a tentative end date of Jan. 31, 2022.



The same rules will apply to out-of-province and international visitors as well. Officials said B.C.'s pending vaccine card system will be compatible with immunization records from other Canadian jurisdictions, including Quebec, which was the first province to announce a vaccine passport requirement.



Henry noted that international travellers already need to provide proof of their vaccination status using the ArriveCAN app.



The only exemption currently planned is for children under the age of 12 who are currently ineligible to receive any of the COVID-19 vaccines.



"They will be able to attend sporting events or go to a restaurant if the parents or the adults they're with are fully vaccinated," Henry said.



The system was announced amid an alarming surge in COVID-19 cases in B.C. fuelled by the highly contagious Delta variant. Henry said 90 per cent of cases recorded over the past month have involved people who are unvaccinated or only partially vaccinated.



"The science is clear," she said. "When you are vaccinated it means that you are less likely to get infected, (Oh? So why is it the vaxxed who are getting Covid and are dying?)  if you are infected you shed virus for a shorter period of time, you're less likely to transmit to other people, and you're much less likely to have a severe illness that leads to hospitalization."

link

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NB church pastor arrested, church ordered closed for COVID non-compliance

Thanksgiving Sunday church services at His Tabernacle in New Brunswick were interrupted when authorities showed up to arrest the associate pastor, Cody Butler.



By Sheila Gunn Reid | October 11, 2021

NB church pastor arrested, church ordered closed for COVID non-complianceFacebook / Cory Raven

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After several days of harassment and the arrest of the associate pastor, His Tabernacle Family Church in Saint John was ordered shuttered by an order of the office of public safety under minister Dennis Landry. The church now faces fines of up to $20,400. The closure order locks the doors to the public until the church can be brought into compliance under section 3 of Preventative Measures - Public Health Act. Section 3 requires the church to enforce proof of vaccination to attend "indoor gatherings." Section 15 of the Mandatory Order, also cited in the closure notice, requires the church to allow for police or public health officers to enter the premises to check for compliance.



Phil Hutchings, the founder and lead pastor of His Tabernacle Family Church Canada posted pictures to his personal Facebook page on Thanksgiving Monday morning showing New Brunswick public safety agents issuing a closure notice and affixing it to the doors of the church, with his text that noted: “THEY HAVE OFFICIALLY SHUT DOWN MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES & COMMUNITY OUTREACHES & FEEDING PROGRAMS.”



His Tabernacle is now a client of Fight The Fines, Rebel News' civil liberties project in partnership with the registered Canadian charity, the Democracy Fund, where the congregation is receiving legal help at no cost to them to fight their tickets and closure notice. Visit www.FightTheFines.com to donate. All donations qualify for a charitable tax receipt. All funds go directly to The Democracy Fund.



Thanksgiving Sunday church services at His Tabernacle were interrupted when authorities showed up to arrest the associate pastor, Cody Butler. Video posted by Hutchings shows the pastor, dressed in a suit, being escorted out of the church by several officers to waiting police cars.

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