A U.S. senator wants Canada investigated for violating religious freedom over the arrests of Alberta pastors accused of flouting COVID-19 restrictions.
Missouri Republican Josh Hawley has asked his country’s Commission on International Religious Freedom to consider putting Canada on its special watch list.
READ MORE: Judge dismisses charter application of GraceLife pastor on trial for violating Alberta health orders
He compares the arrests of pastors James Coates and Tim Stephens to something that would occur in China, which is believed to have detained more than a million Muslims in so-called re-education camps.
The commission says it has received Hawley’s request and that it’s looking in to it.
READ MORE: Calgary pastor Tim Stephens arrested again after allegedly violating COVID-19 rules
Coates spent a month in the Edmonton Remand Centre after he violated a bail condition not to hold church services that officials said were ignoring measures on COVID-19 capacity limits, physical distancing and masking.
Stephens remains in custody after he was arrested last week following repeated public complaints about ongoing services that ignored similar orders.
© 2021 The Canadian Press
