Church faces continued legal pressure as City refuses to pause contested proceedings.
MONTREAL— In July 2025, the Ministerios Restauración Church in Montreal received a $2,500 ticket for hosting a Christian worship service featuring U.S. musician Sean Feucht. Video from the event shows police entering the Church before and possibly during the service. Shortly afterward, protesters attempted to forcefully disrupt and shut it down. City officials accused the Church of violating municipal bylaws related to event permits and zoning. However, no such regulations prohibit regular worship gatherings in churches.
TDF lawyers fought the ticket by pleading not guilty to the fine in Municipal Court and then by filing an application for judicial review in the Quebec Superior Court, citing serious constitutional violations involving freedom of religion, expression, and assembly. The City of Montreal opposed this application but recently lost its motion to dismiss. Now, the City is arguing that the matter should still proceed in the lower Municipal Court, thereby forcing the Church to seek a stay of the Municipal Court proceeding. TDF lawyers have already filed a motion to stay the Municipal Court proceedings.
TDF Litigation Director, Mark Joseph, said: "Typically, when a higher court takes jurisdiction of a proceeding in a lower court, it is understood that the lower court dealing with the same issue will pause or "stay" its proceeding pending resolution by the higher court. This avoids a multiplicity of proceedings and preserves judicial resources. In this case, however, the City is arguing that the Church must formally justify its position and seek a stay in the lower court. This is both highly unusual, wasteful and unlikely to succeed: it betrays a weakness in the City's legal position and suggests fear that it will lose in court."
The Municipal Court hearing is scheduled for May 22.
Founded in 2021, The Democracy Fund (TDF) is a Canadian charity dedicated to constitutional rights, advancing education, and relieving poverty. TDF promotes constitutional rights through litigation and public education and supports an access to justice initiative for Canadians whose civil liberties have been infringed by government lockdowns and other public policy responses to the pandemic.