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COVID-19

Saskatchewan appeals court upholds COVID-era gov’t restrictions on outdoor gatherings

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From LifeSiteNews

By Anthony Murdoch

In a blow to Canadians’ freedom, a provincial court in Saskatchewan dismissed an appeal of a Charter challenge against COVID dictates from 2021 that limited outdoor gatherings to 10 people.

The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) issued a press release expressing disappointment that the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal “dismissed” the Charter challenge from Jasmin Grandel and Darrell Mills.

“The unanimous decision was released on May 15, 2024, by Justice J.A. Kalmakoff writing for the three-panel hearing of the Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan,” the JCCF noted.

Andre Memauri, the attorney representing Grandel and Mills, said he is “carefully reviewing the Court’s decision and advising our clients accordingly.”

In February, there was hope for Grandel and Mills after the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal announced it would hear the appeal.

In 2021, the plaintiffs first challenged the government’s outdoor restrictions mandate with help from lawyers from the JCCF, saying they were “as violations of their Charter-protected freedoms of thought, belief, opinion and expression, association, and peaceful assembly.”

This challenge, however, was not successful. On September 20, 2022, Justice D.B. Konkin of the Court of King’s Bench of Saskatchewan upheld the government’s COVID dictates.

Memauri had said regarding the first ruling, “Our infectious disease specialist made it clear at the lower court that the outdoor transmission of COVID-19 was negligible, much like every other respiratory illness in history.”

“There was no compelling basis for the Saskatchewan government to impose such extreme restrictions on people’s rights to assemble, express themselves and associate outdoors. The rule of law means that laws should be enforced equally, but the Saskatchewan Government encouraged and supported Black Lives Matter protests outdoors in large numbers while ticketing people who six months later protested the violations of their Charter freedoms.”

Grandel and Mills had attended various protests against the mandates that resulted in large fines for violating Public Health Orders.

The JCCF pointed out a double standard, noting that when the 10-person outdoor gathering limits were in place the government of Saskatchewan, “including Premier Scott Moe and Chief Medical Health Officer Saqib Shahab, publicly supported large Black Lives Matter protests in violation of outdoor gathering restrictions.”

“Meanwhile, Canadians attending protests against Covid gathering restrictions were targeted and fined only six months later by the same government,” the JCCF said.

COVID vaccine mandates split Canadian society. The mRNA shots themselves have been linked to a multitude of negative and often severe side effects in children.

The jabs also have connections to cell lines derived from aborted babies. As a result of this, many Catholics and other Christians refused to take them.

As reported by LifeSiteNews, British Columbia still mandates COVID shots for healthcare workers who are not in a remote setting.

While all other provinces that had healthcare worker COVID jab mandates have lifted them, workers who were discriminated against for refusing to take the shots have had mixed results in legal battles.

Last month, LifeSiteNews reported that Canadian nurse Kristen Nagle, who was found guilty of violating Ontario’s COVID rules for participating in an anti-lockdown rally and speaking out against COVID mandates, recently had what she described as a “half-win” in court. Her fine was massively reduced, but she was still sentenced to two years’ probation that she said is designed to stop her from “speaking out or going against public health measures.”

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COVID-19

Canadian Health Department funds study to determine effects of COVID lockdowns on children

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From LifeSiteNews

By Anthony Murdoch

The commissioned study will assess the impact on kids’ mental well-being of COVID lockdowns and ‘remote’ school classes that banned outdoor play and in-person learning.

Canada’s Department of Health has commissioned research to study the impact of outdoor play on kids’ mental well-being in light of COVID lockdowns and “remote” school classes that, for a time, banned outdoor play and in-person learning throughout most of the nation. 

In a notice to consultants titled “Systematic Literature Reviews And Meta Analyses Supporting Two Projects On Children’s Health And Covid-19,” the Department of Health admitted that “Exposure to green space has been consistently associated with protective effects on children’s physical and mental health.”

A final report, which is due in 2026, will provide “Health Canada with a comprehensive assessment of current evidence, identify key knowledge gaps and inform surveillance and policy planning for future pandemics and other public health emergencies.”

Bruce Squires, president of McMaster Children’s Hospital of Hamilton, Ontario, noted in 2022 that “Canada’s children and youth have borne the brunt” of COVID lockdowns.

From about March 2020 to mid-2022, most of Canada was under various COVID-19 mandates and lockdowns, including mask mandates, at the local, provincial, and federal levels. Schools were shut down, parks were closed, and most kids’ sports were cancelled. 

Mandatory facemask polices were common in Canada and all over the world for years during the COVID crisis despite over 170 studies showing they were not effective in stopping the spread of COVID and were, in fact, harmful, especially to children.

In October 2021, then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced unprecedented COVID-19 jab mandates for all federal workers and those in the transportation sector, saying the un-jabbed would no longer be able to travel by air, boat, or train, both domestically and internationally.

As reported by LifeSiteNews, a new report released by the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) raised alarm bells over the “harms caused” by COVID-19 lockdowns and injections imposed by various levels of government as well as a rise in unexplained deaths and bloated COVID-19 death statistics.

Indeed, a recent study showed that COVID masking policies left children less able to differentiate people’s emotions behind facial expressions.

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COVID-19

Ontario student appeals ruling that dismissed religious objection to abortion-tainted COVID shot

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From LifeSiteNews

By Clare Marie Merkowsky

An Ontario Tech University student is seeking judicial review after the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario ruled his beliefs did not qualify as protected ‘creed.’

An Ontario university student who was punished for refusing the COVID shot is contesting a tribunal ruling that rejected his religious objection to the vaccine.

In a November 28 press release, the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) announced that a judicial review has been filed on behalf of former Ontario Tech University student Philip Anisimov after his religious objection to the COVID vaccine was dismissed by an Ontario court.

“Mr. Anisimov’s objection to the Covid vaccine was deeply rooted in his religious commitment to live according to biblical precepts,” Constitutional lawyer Hatim Kheir declared. “He hopes the Divisional Court will clarify that his religious objection was protected by the Human Rights Code and entitled to protection.”

In 2021, Ontario mandated that all students in the province show proof of vaccination unless they had an exemption or agreed to attend a COVID jab education session boasting about the shots. The third option was not available at Ontario Tech University, as schools could choose whether or not they would offer such a program to students.

Anisimov had requested an exemption from the experimental, abortion-tainted COVID shots on religious grounds but was denied and deregistered from his courses.

He was then forced to spend an entire extra year to complete his studies. According to his lawyers, Ontario Tech University’s decision to not approve his COVID jab exemption request “not only disrupted his career plans but also violated his right to be free from discrimination on the basis of religion, as protected by the Ontario Human Rights Code.”

The university’s refusal to honor his exemption prompted Anisimov to take legal action in April with help of the JCCF. However, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario rejected his religious objection, arguing that it was not protected as a “creed” under the Ontario Human Rights Code.

Now, Anisimov is appealing the ruling, hoping that his case will serve as a precedent for justice for students who were discriminated against for refusing the abortion-tainted vaccine.

“My hope is that this case helps set an important precedent and encourages Canadians to reflect on the direction our society is taking,” he explained. “My trust is that God does all things for the good of those who love Him, who are called by His purposes.”

Beyond health concerns, many Canadians, especially Catholics, opposed the vaccines on moral grounds because of their link to fetal cell lines derived from the tissue of aborted babies.

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