The Alberta Court of Appeal has sided with Artur and David Pawlowski and Whistle Stop Café owner Christopher Scott in an appeal against Alberta Health Services (AHS).

The appeal involved three orders from Court of Queen’s Bench Judge Adam Germain that the three men were in defiance of a May 6, 2021 injunction granted to AHS that prohibited public gatherings due to the coronavirus pandemic. COVID-19. The Pawlowskis appealed the contempt findings and penalties, while Scott only appealed the penalties.

In the July 21 ruling, the Court of Appeal struck down the mobility and speech provisions included in Germain’s orders. The court also agreed with the Pawlowskis that the injunction was not sufficiently clear and was ambiguous. The court quashed the contempt claims against the brothers, thereby removing the penalties.

The court ordered that the Pawlowskis be reimbursed for fines paid and ordered AHS to pay them $15,733.50 in costs. The court also said AHS would consent to an appeal order to remove the provisions.

Court documents indicate that the Pawlowskis were arrested shortly after the injunction was served, after being tried in violation of the order they had just received. They were released from custody on May 10, 2021.

According to the brothers’ lawyer, Sarah Miller, David Pawlowski was served by police during a Saturday morning service on May 8, 2021, but Artur never was. Police also did not provide an explanation of the implications of the order.

“It is very concerning, the lack of due process in this case. And it was very shocking that this case got this far before a court said, no, no, no, that’s just not the way you’re supposed to do things like this,” said Miller at The Epoch. Time.

“I was quite shocked and appalled that the Pawlowskis were arrested on such a vague and flimsy order. … Then to arrest them and detain them for three days, I was flabbergasted. I was so shocked and, frankly, , somewhat concerned with the exercise of governmental authority.

Miller said the approach contributed to the harm to his clients.

“For Alberta Health Services to continue to pursue this as a civil contempt proceeding, I thought was ridiculous. I thought there was no way they would be successful in this application,” she said.

“What happened when Judge Germain made his decision was that he erased all that case law that says injunctions have to be narrow in their application, they have to be specific.”

Miller said maintaining that precedent could have led to widespread suppression of protests through injunctions.

“Your protesters now have their legs cut off from under them, as you no longer need to name them specifically. You no longer need to limit where your injunction applies.

The Epoch Times contacted AHS for comment but did not hear back before publication.

“A Big Surprise”

Art Pawlowski, a pastor who leads Street Church and Adallum’s Grotto in Calgary, has made international headlines for repeatedly defying restrictions during pandemic shutdowns. In early 2022, after attending a rally at a roadblock on Highway 4 near Milk River, Alta., he spent 51 days in custody where he was held in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day, according to dispatches.

Pawlowski told The Epoch Times that he was inundated with congratulatory emails and phone calls following the July 21 court ruling. He called the verdict a “big surprise”.

“I practically gave up on the justice system. … And all three judges agreed that what happened was wrong and illegal. It’s pretty amazing,” he said.

“Obviously, these judges were not willing to just be puppets of politicians.”

The pastor, who grew up in communist Poland, said he was not properly served orders on May 8, 2021.

“They never served me any documents. I never even saw the court order. They dropped it on the ground while I was preaching, yet later I was pulled over in the middle of the highway for something that was never served by them,” he said.

“It’s always important to do the right thing, tyranny is always wrong, and you’re talking to an immigrant who escaped tyranny. … And right now, look what’s happening to me. The same tyranny followed me, if you will, to my beloved Canada.

Miller said the threshold for proving malicious prosecution is high, but future steps are being considered.

“They were too obsessed with Artur. That’s partly because it’s noisy. He has an active social network. It attracts attention, and that would be positive and negative. So people on her social media would call Alberta Health Services or the police,” she said.

Miller said the brothers had to arrange financing to pay “exorbitant fees and costs.”

“They were also subject to regular reports to a probation officer [under] probation conditions, which later resulted in probation charges when they demonstrated in front of [Health] Minister [Jason] Copping’s house. This has been significant, the continuing toll for both of them, swelling of what, in my opinion, was a misapplication of justice.

Pawlowski thinks more rewards are deserved.

“Well, we’ll see what happens, there has to be restitution, because if there’s no restitution, we can’t talk about real justice,” he said.

“They subjected me to continuous hardship, my family, my brother, my wife, my children – financial hardship, slander, defamation. It has hurt me a lot over the past two years, doing this to me, including our arrests and what happened to me when I was arrested. It is physical torture.

Pawlowski expressed his gratitude to those who donated to the Democracy Fund that helped pay his legal fees, as well as to those who encouraged him.

“I just want to thank everyone who believes in us and in justice and who has supported us through this crazy ordeal because we wouldn’t be able to do this without the massive support we’ve had from Canadians.”

The appeals court partially overturned the sanctions against Scott, saying the chambers judge’s proceedings against Scott were “an error in principle”. The appropriate penalties against him have been re-set to three days in jail and eight months probation, each of which has already been served, plus a $10,000 fine.