According to The Epoch Times, the crown prosecutor for the province of Alberta has recommended Pastor James Coates and Grace Life Church be acquitted of all charges related to holding church services during the pandemic.

Coates along with two other pastors, Pastor Tim Stephens and Pastor Artur Pawloski, were charged for holding what the government considered were illegal services during the lockdowns that stopped people from gathering at church.

It seems that the prosecutor’s change of heart was due to an earlier court ruling on July 31, 2023, that the Alberta government’s lockdowns initiated under the province’s Public Health Act were unconstitutional and ultimately illegal. In that ruling, the court stated that the government had exceeded the authority granted to them.

Leighton Grey, who represented Coates during the court proceedings, stated:

“That is a fundamental recognition of the rule of law, and that is what has been missing from Canadian jurisprudence for three years. ‘Your [the government’s] powers have limits. This is the first time that government overreach has been checked.”

In 2021, the Alberta government had thrown Coates into jail for over a month for continuing to hold services during the pandemic. The courts did not even grant Coates bail because he refused to sign documents stating that he would no longer pastor the church.

The government eventually seized the church’s property and built a large fence around the building to prevent people from attending services.

This forced the church members to meet at secret locations around the province. According to reports, after Coates’ arrest attendance at the church doubled.

READ: EXCLUSIVE: Alberta Pastor James Coates to Be Acquitted of All COVID Charges