“The Harvest Bible Church in Windsor, Ontario, released a press statement on Thursday, Dec. 24, claiming that the church’s lead pastor, Dr. Aaron Rock, has been fined up to $100,000 and could face a year in prison for holding church services. ‘Police also informed us that they will bar our congregation from entering the church on Christmas Eve, contrary to Section 176 of the Criminal Code and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. We are deeply grieved by these unlawful and immoral acts, having already been banned from meeting on Good Friday and Easter Sunday,’ a statement from the church reads. The church says that the Windsor-Essex County Health United has not responded to any written communication from the church while police close the premises. Pastor Rock said that legal action against provincial governments that infringe on religious freedoms is coming soon. ‘Yes there will be lawsuits, they will start in the western provinces, with the goal to overturn their draconian rules. Then they will move to Ontario.’” Pastor Rock told the Post Millennial, “I think our justice system is under the spell of foolishness, but in all honesty whatever the courts decide or not decide, makes very little difference to me. I have a work for God, a mandate for God, and whether the court upholds this ridiculous charge or not, it doesn’t change my convictions” (“Ontario pastor,” Post Millennial, Dec. 28, 2020).
“Ontario pastor,” Conservative Review, Dec. 25, 2020