Judge dismisses City's Motion to Dismiss Church's application for judicial review.
Montreal— In response to the $2,500 by-law infraction ticket issued against Ministerios Restauracion by the City of Montreal after the worship service of US artist Sean Feucht, TDF lawyers filed an application for judicial review with the Quebec Superior Court seeking to have the ticket quashed. (Several Canadian church organizations, including the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, the Canadian Centre for Christian Charities, and the Réseau évangélique du Québec, sought and received the Court's permission to intervene in support of Ministerios Restauracion.)
In response, lawyers for the City filed a motion to dismiss the Church's application contending that the issues should be handled exclusively in municipal court.
In their written submissions, TDF lawyers argued that the Superior Court, rather than the Municipal Court, should hear and determine the Charter challenges brought by the Church, given that freedom of religion, speech and assembly are constitutionally-protected rights and that the City's ticket infringed those rights. The City argued that the constitutional challenges brought by the Church in its judicial application should be adjudicated by the Municipal Court rather than the Superior Court since the Municipal Court has jurisdiction to hear these arguments.
The Superior Court has now rendered its judgment. After reviewing the written submission of the parties, Justice Lukasz Granosik of the Quebec Superior Court rejected the City's attempt to dismiss the Church's application for judicial review.
The Church's application will now proceed to a full hearing on the merits at the Quebec Superior Court at a date to be scheduled soon.
TDF litigation director, Mark Joseph, said: "This is an important preliminary victory for the Church, since now the Quebec Superior Court will consider the larger constitutional challenges to the City's ticket in a full hearing. TDF lawyers will get the chance to argue that the City violated the rights of Montreal church members when it interfered by issuing a $2,500 fine for engaging in peaceful worship."
About The Democracy Fund:
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. TDF 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.