Arthur Pavlowski and Tim Stevens, Alberta pastors jailed for defying COVID-19 restrictions—Pavlowski (handcuffed, denied sleep) and Stevens (arrested with SWAT force)—expose Canada’s growing war on faith, where churches face harsher penalties than businesses like Costco. Ontario’s Henry Hildebrandt was fined $117,000 for similar gatherings, while unelected health officials push judges to criminalize worship under "distorted science," echoing WWII-era Dieppe policies. Salim Mansoor aligns with their fight, suggesting legal resistance and political collaboration to reclaim religious freedoms, now systematically suppressed by courts, media, and state overreach. [Automatically generated summary]
Hello my friends, sometimes on these holidays we do a compilation video, sort of the best of this story or the best of that on-air talent.
You know, we put out so many videos at Rebel News.
I think it's too much for any one person just to watch them all.
I confess sometimes I don't even have time to watch them all.
So on these holidays we'd like to do a best of, but today's a little different.
It's going to be a worst of.
This is the worst.
of the persecution of Christian churches in Canada.
That's ahead, but before we get to that, let me invite you to become a subscriber to Rebel News Plus.
That's the video version of this podcast.
You'll be able to understand these podcasts pretty well through the audio podcast.
But these are all visually reported stories with a video camera, and I think they're much more powerful that way.
I would invite you to become a subscriber.
Just go to RebelNews.com, click subscribe.
It's $8 a month, $80 for the whole year, and the satisfaction of knowing you keep Rebel News Independent.
All right, here's today's terrible show, the worst of the persecution of the churches.
Tonight, a terrible dishonor.
Canada takes the lead in being one of the worst countries to be a Christian pastor.
It's May 24th, and this is the Azure Revance Show.
Why should others go to jail when you're a biggest carbon consumer I know?
There's 8,500 customers here, and you won't give them an answer.
The only thing I have to say to the government is because it's my bloody right to do so.
I'm Jewish, but I care about the persecution of Christians around the world.
In fact, that may be one of the reasons why I do care about it, because I know from the history of the Jewish people what religious persecution can be like, especially for minorities.
And there are parts of the world, like the Middle East and China, where Christians are minorities.
And the nature of Christians is to turn the other cheek.
And so sometimes other Christian allies are not as strong, not as vigorous or forceful in defending the interests of Christians.
I don't want to pick on any Christian leader in particularly, but I'm always disappointed in how timid the Pope himself is in speaking up for Christians behind enemy lines in places like the Nineveh Plain of Iraq or in China itself.
But that's the thing.
I always thought the persecution of Christians was something that happened over there.
We'd hear of horrific mass kidnappings and rapes of Christian girls in Nigeria at the hands of Boko Haram.
We'd hear of mass murders of Coptic Christians in Egypt, slaughters of Christians at the hands of ISIS when they were dominant in northern Iraq.
It was always over there though, wasn't it?
The house churches being raided and smashed in China, in Pakistan, the tiny Christian minority being abused, sometimes even murdered, over there, far away.
Who amongst us has even been to such exotic places?
And maybe it was easy for us to say we were for Christians when it really meant something in the abstract.
We're for Christians and against persecution for something far away.
We don't actually have to live it here because it's not a problem here.
So maybe it was a little bit of moral preening, a little bit of virtue signaling in the hopes that we would never have to deal with that problem here.
I think what we've all observed in the last few months is that the problem is here.
And I point in particular to my home province of Alberta, which has the unhappy reputation now of being the place that has jailed three Christian pastors for opening their church in a much smaller manner than any Costco or Walmart does.
It's not just Alberta.
In Aylmer, Ontario, Pastor Henry Hildebrandt literally has armed police walk into the church in the middle of a service and vacate the entire premises.
Where are all those people who said they cared?
I don't mean the Pope or American evangelical leaders.
I'm not talking about that.
I'm talking about us here in Canada.
Where are the small churches, the big ones, the Christian groups, the ones who wear a little nun symbol because they care about the persecution of Christians in Iraq, and being a symbol for Nazarene?
That's what sometimes the Islamic State would call Christians they were about to attack.
They would mark their houses with that Arabic letter N for the Nazarene to market for Jesus.
Everyone who ever wore a bracelet that said WWJD, what would Jesus do?
Everyone who ever wore a little nun, everyone who ever said, I'm for the Christians, I'm going to pack a little shoebox for Samaritan's purse.
Okay, but the crisis is here and now.
And where are those allies?
Other than a handful of churches that you could really count on one or two hands' fingers, where's everyone?
Because it's happening now.
I haven't heard any stories about China jailing pastors for being open during the pandemic, have you?
I haven't heard stories about that from Egypt or Iraq or Pakistan or Nigeria, have you?
But I've seen three churches being shut down, pastors arrested, a church in Ontario being shut down.
I find it deeply troubling.
I'm glad that we are legally helping several of these churches, including Pastor Arthur Pavlovsky.
We're also journalistically covering the cases that are represented by other lawyers like the Justice Center for Constitutional Freedom.
And so today on this holiday Monday, sometimes on holidays we have the best of, the best of this report or the best of this story.
This is the opposite.
This is the worst of.
For the rest of today's show, I would like to show you the worst of the anti-Christian persecution that is being executed in the name of the pandemic.
That's today's show.
Stay with us.
That obedience to Christ is the catalyst for persecution.
And so you don't wait to be persecuted to obey Christ.
It's your obedience to Christ that results in persecution.
Our church is committed to the Word of God.
We are committed to preaching the Word of God verse by verse.
We're committed to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
We want the Word of God to shape all that we do, every area of our lives, from the way that we parent to the way that we live in the community.
And so we've just been faithful to preach the Word of God, and people have come, hungry to hear the Word of God, and that just continues to happen even now as we go through this season.
I was speaking to quite a few people, of course, off the record, that they're not regular congregants to your church, but they're coming because they see this as a vibrant church and a church that is willing to stand up for the civil liberties of not just Christians, but everybody.
Yeah, it's been amazing.
Obviously, the media attention has given us greater attention, and that means people are coming.
And we want people to hear the word of God.
We're obviously in a very awkward situation as far as accommodating new folks, given the limited number of seats that we have.
But ultimately, we want God to be glorified, and we want his word to go forth.
And if that draws people, then it's difficult to turn them away.
You see, some give the impression that if we were being persecuted, then only then would it be right for us to gather, which is a strange position, especially since all you need to do is just obey the government, comply with government to avoid persecution.
If you comply with the government, you may never be persecuted.
Now, can you tell us exactly what happened last week?
Because I've seen reports that you were arrested.
I was arrested.
I was arrested and released in the same moment.
And the RCMP has been excellent as they've navigated this.
Obviously, they're under a lot of pressure, I would think, to enforce the health orders that are in place.
But yeah, they've been good.
I was arrested and I even said to them at one point in time, so technically I'm arrested.
And they said, oh, you're arrested.
But I was arrested and released in the same moment.
And so that was for violating the public health order?
Yes, section 73.1 of the Public Health Act.
Yeah.
And your church has been ordered closed, but it's never, I guess, been fuller.
When did they issue the closure notice?
They issued that on, oh, let me just think here.
I'm losing track.
January 29th, which was my birthday, actually.
So happy birthday.
Here's a closure notice.
And so yes, Friday, January 29th.
Now, you're not opening your church, from what I understand, because I enjoyed your sermon today.
It hit all the sweet spots for me.
But you're not doing this to be rebellious at all.
No, we love the Lord Jesus Christ.
We are required, commanded to gather and to worship him with one voice, one mind.
And so we are committed to honoring and glorifying him.
In fact, we believe that us honoring him in this way is the best thing we can do for our province.
To invite God's blessing upon this province, gathering as believers to worship the Lord Jesus Christ is critical.
And so no, we don't have animosity toward government.
We want to maintain humility and submissiveness, but we are accountable to Christ.
And he is the ultimate and supreme authority.
And so he governs all of our lives.
And his authority at times will be in conflict with the governing authorities.
And at that point in time, we submit to Christ.
And really, what that does, to say that only if we're being persecuted are we to gather as we currently are, you're basically saying that it's right to gather.
Implicitly, you're saying it's right to gather.
That according to the word of God, if persecution were on the church, then we would have an obligation to gather.
So you're admitting that it's right to gather.
I think that's amazing.
Your sermon also touched on the role of government today.
Can you elaborate a little bit?
Yeah, so the role of government is actually a biblical reality.
This is our Father's world.
And he, in the garden, prior to the fall of man, put in place a kingdom mandate whereby man was given the responsibility to exercise dominion over the earth.
And government was put in place subsequent to that and was put in place to ensure that kingdom mandate would be realized.
There are fundamental, inalienable rights that are given to man by God that are built right into that kingdom mandate.
And the government's role and responsibility is to ensure those rights are protected.
And that would be the right to work, the right to have a family, the right to worship, the right to purchase and acquire property.
And so the government is in place to ensure those things can take place.
What's interesting is that the government lockdowns are infringing on those inalienable rights that come from God.
And that's because the government has stepped outside of its lane and is now entering into a role that's not theirs.
And so there's a sense in which, because they're trying to balance what they're calling our civil liberties against the harms of lockdown measures, they are in essence playing God.
You're telling us that the public health orders override Criminal Code 176?
I'm not here to debate that.
Okay.
I'm here to do a job under the corporate.
But you entering the building would determine that that is overriding.
Now, see, we're getting into a debate.
No, no, I'm asking a question.
I'm trying to get an answer.
Again, I'm not here to debate those things.
Those are things that can be debated in court.
And I'll let the lawyers and the judges make that call.
So I guess, though, by you guys going inside, you would be saying that you're guilty of interrupting the worship service.
No, no, no, I'm not saying that.
No, but you're saying that the public health orders override criminal code 176.
But that's why we can't let you in then, because the code 176 makes it illegal for you to interrupt a worship service.
And our worship service has begun.
And we're stating that to you very clearly, that your presence in this building will be interrupting our worship service.
How so?
Because your presence intimidates our people.
That's your perception.
Well, no, And again, it's not about perception.
Our people understand that you guys, and again, we respect the work that you do in the community.
We respect you as police officers.
But in our worship service right now, people are praying, people are singing, people are listening to the word of God be preached.
And they can't do that with your presence in the building.
And with all due respect, the law has now put our pastor in prison.
And so for the RCMP to come into the service, it is absolutely a disruption.
We have seen the arm of law enforcement come against us.
So to come in our building is absolutely intimidation at this point.
That's why we can't let you in.
Once again, I'm sorry you feel that way, but you have to understand that we also have a job to do.
Yeah, we do.
Why We Can't Let You In00:05:54
Okay.
So under that authority, that's why we're here.
We're not here to go up and down the aisles.
We're not here to.
But you actually will be.
No, when you go inside, you will see that you will be.
Our people are sitting right there.
And our service has now, we are officially started.
Right now we have.
It's a big waste of time.
We were started before that, but now he's in the pulpit.
We were already praying and singing.
He's in the pulpit now.
I haven't been in, so I don't know what it's like.
Like I said, it's not that we're here to interrupt anything.
But you will.
And it's not an interpretation.
You will be.
It's a fact.
You will be interrupting.
We are standing firm on the Criminal Code 176 that protects these rights.
I'm sorry you feel that way.
Again, that is not our intent, okay?
And if there's no intent, then...
Well, I don't think intent is what it comes down to.
No.
It does come down to that, yes.
Well, no, because your moment you walk in the door, you're interrupting a right service.
And that's very clear in the criminal code.
What's also clear is intent.
So there has to be a reason for somebody to do something.
It's called mensria.
Okay, so if someone wants to cause property damage, they have to want to cause property damage for a reason.
Yeah.
If they do it by accident.
So can I ask what is your intent then?
Like the inspector has stated, I'll let him say okay.
While he's here, I don't want to speak for him.
We're only here on his behalf.
We recognize that.
Very good.
So what is the intent?
I'm here today just to observe the service.
Just to observe the compliance with the owners.
What's your name, sir?
My name is Dragon.
Dragon?
Dragon.
My name's Ron.
Nice to meet you.
Yeah.
No other intent.
Yeah.
No, but again, with that intent, it will interrupt our worship service.
We don't have intent to interrupt your service, like we would.
I think there's nothing inside that you're going to see that you can't see clearly from out here with the amount of cars in the parking lot.
So again, I would ask, why do you need to be in the building versus what you've seen with the amount of people that have come into our building from outside?
I would need to observe compliance with the same capacity.
I think you can count just by counting the cars, you can see how we're not compliant, and so that's why I'm saying that.
Compliance with masking and physical distancing.
And again, I would say with witnessing people that are, you know, that have stood outside and people over there you can witness without coming into the building that same thing.
I would observe from inside the building rather than just assuming what's going on.
Well no you're not assuming because you can see there's people not social distancing.
And you can count the cars in the building.
There's no assumptions.
There's no assumptions there.
And with your own testimony and they're witnessing that, you don't need to come inside the building.
Another thing is under the Public Health Act we have the right to enter at any level of time, any place of business.
Under the Health Act you do, but not under the Criminal Code 1700.
Yeah, which doesn't override.
So I think based on what I've said, being reasonable, you can observe everything you need to outside the building and that way you don't interrupt our service and you still get your observations.
And I think that's still factual because like I said, any amount of, if there's more than 93 vehicles in this parking lot, the vehicles don't drive themselves.
So therefore it's reasonable to assume that there's 93 people minimum.
Again, we can't assume.
So at the end of the day, the public health act says we have access to go in the building.
If you don't want us to go in the building, that's fine, but you're accepting that you're denying us access to the building.
So if you deny access to the building, there's potential for criminal charges or potential for additional charges.
So that being said, we're going to respect the fact that you guys don't want us to go into the church.
We're not going to go into the church.
We're going to stay outside and we'll observe the numbers that says that.
Okay, thank you.
Okay, sir, there's no further interaction.
Yeah, okay.
Are you satisfied with that?
Very much, so.
If you can observe from one side.
Do Not Return Without a Warrant00:08:42
It should be in my bags.
Um...
Father!
Cheers!
I love you. I love you too.
Okay, that seems a little bit crazy.
Okay.
You can just transfer some money to a guy.
I need a little bit of sure, yeah, thank you.
Yeah, no worries.
Please get out.
Get out of this property immediately, get out.
Get out of this property immediately.
Out.
I don't want to hear anything out of this property immediately.
I don't want to hear a word.
Out of this property immediately until you come back with a warrant.
Out of this property.
Immediately out.
Immediately go out and don't come back.
I don't want to talk to you.
Not a word.
Out of this pro out of this property.
Immediately out.
I don't care what you have to say.
Ouch.
Ouch.
Out of this property, you Nazis.
Out.
Out.
Gestapo is not allowed here.
Immediately, Gestapo is not allowed.
Out!
Do you understand English?
Get out of this property.
Go!
So go!
Go!
And don't come back without the warrant.
Out, Nazi!
Out!
Out!
You understand?
Nazis are not welcome here.
Out!
And don't come back without a warrant.
Do not come back without a warrant.
You understand that?
You're not welcomed here.
Nazis are not welcome here.
Gestapo is not welcomed here.
Do not come back, you Nazi psychopaths.
Unbelievable, sick, evil people intimidating people in a church during the Passover.
You Gestapo, Nazi communists, fascists.
Well, friends, we have a SWAT team in our church again.
Coming, authorities.
So I'm going to go out and see what they want.
Yes.
Hello, Walter.
Hi, Arthur.
I wonder if I could just give you a couple pieces of the court order.
This is for you.
It basically outlines the fact we have the right to enter today.
What I would really have to get into a personal space.
Thank you.
Well, you're in my personal space.
Can I explain to you, Arthur?
I'm not really interested in what you have to say.
Can I explain to you?
I'm reading.
Okay, okay.
What we'd want to do is make sure that we're not going to disrupt anything under the service.
The idea is...
This is...
You have it wrong.
This is not street church.
This is not street church.
You have a wrong.
Both things are actually on there.
Both churches are detailed on there.
So if we could come and do an inspection...
The cave of Adullam is not a registered organization.
And this is not street church.
So you have a wrong.
You gotta do your homework first before you come, okay?
You have a wrong.
You have a wrong organization.
That is for you, Arthur.
And we'll send it to you by email too if you'd like.
I just wanted to be able to come today and then at least explain the order, serve the order, and then we can stand at the back.
No, you can contact.
No, You can contact my lawyer.
Okay, my lawyer takes care of this.
I'm not interested to listen to any word you have to say.
I do not cooperate with Gestapo.
I do not talk to the Nazis.
You came in your uniforms like thugs.
That's what you are.
Brown shirts of Adolf Hitler.
You are Nazi Gestapo communist fascists.
I do not cooperate with Nazis.
Talk to my lawyer.
You're not allowed here.
You're not welcomed here.
And I'm not going to cooperate with Gestapo like you, okay?
So is that fair enough for you?
Talk to my lawyer.
I just wanted to explain a little bit about the order.
I'm not interested.
I'm not interested in talking.
You see, you see, this is what the Gestapo is doing.
You're coming to the place of worship to intimidate and to harass.
So you can make an appointment.
Lady, listen to me.
You can make an appointment.
Another day.
You Gestapo!
Another day!
Not this day!
Not this day!
Not during the church!
You understand?
Make an appointment!
Okay, so go!
See you later on.
Have a good day.
You are sick.
That's what you are.
For laughter, family, coming together, worshiping our God, freedom.
Look, those people are not slaves, they're free.
Those people are free.
I want you to be free.
Don't allow them to put shackles on you, muzzles on you, leash on you, be free, be happy, enjoy life.
You only have one life.
Enjoy it.
Well, we're walk for freedom.
We're doing a big rally today later on, and we support Art.
He's our brother in arms here against their corruption and the fraud that's going on.
We're here to help the people understand what's really going on.
And what that is, is that the government is not giving evidence about the facts.
What they're doing is they're lying to the people, and that's why we're here in force.
Pastor Art does, he does the real stuff.
Like, he's not a fake person.
He knows the laws, he knows the truth.
And, you know, if people are offended by that, so be it, because the Bible says that, you know, the truth is offensive.
So if you're offended by this, sorry.
Sorry, not sorry, really, because, you know, we're doing what the Lord has told us to.
And, you know, my belief is that if I'm wrong about my faith, I've wasted my life.
But if they're wrong about my faith, they've wasted their eternity.
I came down after following the story for a number of months now.
And myself, I support the preservation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
And I don't care what your religious stripe is, but you do have the fundamental right to practice your religion.
It's nice to have everyone come together.
Yes, a faith community, but there are people amongst even a gathering like this that may be struggling emotionally and mentally.
And suicide is at an all-time high right now.
It's very high.
And so by gathering together, we can show compassion, we can encourage each other.
And by doing that, someone has hope.
And that's the reason for the church.
Yes, to share the love of Jesus, but to give with that love comes hope.
It's love and hope and a future and encouragement.
And don't give up.
I'm absolutely deeply touched by the response of the people.
I think if every pastor, every clergyman would rise up and come out.
If we cannot worship inside, let's have the biggest worship services outdoors all over this country.
I mean, let the revolution begin.
Let the fight for the freedom begin.
13 months, enough is enough.
We're moving forward and let's push as hard as we can right now.
And let's dethrone those pharaohs of the land.
And let's place freedom lovers, freedom fighters at the parliament, at our city halls, and on our legislature buildings.
They're not here for freedom.
They hate freedom.
They hate everything that is just and holy.
That's why they're here.
But we're not going to give more attention to the hyenas.
Lions Never Bow00:06:45
We eat hyenas for breakfast!
We are a pack of lions!
AND LIONS NEVER BOW BEFORE THE HIGHER Hello friends, this is Pastor Art Poloski If you're watching this video, that means they have successfully arrested me and I am in jail.
If you would like to support me, if you would like to support Rebel News and the legal team that is trying their best to get me out of this trouble, please go to safearthur.com.
Please donate.
Please help.
Help me, help my family, help my wife and my children to get me out of this horrible, illegal situation.
Please go to savearthur.com and get me out of this if you can.
Hello, Arthur.
How are you doing?
Hey, Adam, you missed.
You missed yesterday.
I know.
We just got the news right after.
A colleague happened to pull up right after it happened.
So we've been keeping up to date.
Over a million people have viewed the video of your arrest already.
Wow.
Wow.
Well, here's what happened after the video.
I was thrown like a piece of meat behind a police vehicle.
And I had to go for about an hour, hour and a half, back of a police car, laying down on my and my handcuffs.
My hand bullets all over my place.
Almost broke my shoulder.
So that was until we got to Spy Hill.
Then, of course, the processing unit with my brother, we were taken to two different separate cells.
They're not allowing us to sleep.
So 24 hours I can't sleep.
The lights are so bright.
It's absolutely crazy.
Even though other inmates, for example, across from my cell, they turn the lights off and he could go to sleep.
I don't have that same courtesy.
We do not have blankets.
We do not have pillows, nothing.
We had to spend the whole day yesterday and the whole night and a half a day right now on a concrete, cold concrete.
So that's the situation here.
I was never contacted by a lawyer.
Yeah, it's shocking at the treatment.
I'm being viewed here as a monkey in a circus.
From time to time, police will come and just look through the window or, you know, like a trophy.
But I'm in a good spirit.
I'm not going to quit.
They will not silence me.
I'll keep doing what I'm doing because if I don't have freedom, then I have nothing else.
If we don't have freedom to worship our God, then what else do we have?
All the rights around the world, if you don't have the freedom of religion, all the other rights are disappearing as well.
We have to stand up.
And Christians, rise up, stand up right now.
I mean, if not now, then when?
I know that some people don't like me.
And I say quite often, don't like me.
I'm not here to win a popularity contest, but I'm a pastor that is feeding the poor for 22 years without charging money for taxpayers, without asking for anything in return.
And I also pastor another church, and people come freely.
I don't force anyone to come and listen.
People come because they're adults and they want to come.
And for that terrible crime, I was handcuffed, rafted, thrown like a piece of meat behind the police van and taken to jail where I am standing because I can't even sit anymore.
You know, how long can you sit and lay on the concrete?
So I'm walking around the cell waiting for my release so I can file my lawsuits against those people because that's what I want next.
I want to start going after those villains.
They're villains.
They're wicked, evil people.
What they're doing is evil.
I think Jason Kenya, I have become his political prisoner because he's afraid of the movement.
We have now thousands of people rising up.
We have 11 candidates in our own church and more, more are coming.
I think they're afraid that we're going to clean the corruption.
They're so corrupted and we are talking about corruption and he decided to arrest me as a political prisoner to silence me.
But I think the more people will see what's going on, the more people will rise up and will have more candidates.
And we need to clean up political system.
We need to clean the corruption.
We have to make those people accountable again.
We have to bring back the recall, the real recall, so people can recall their politicians.
We have to bring back the referendum so people have backed their voice, so they will feel included in the main key decision-making.
Not right like we have right now, few people are deciding how we are to live and how we are to die.
That's unacceptable.
I know that there are many Canadians that want their country back as well.
Any final word before you head back into your jail cell?
Well, I want to tell you, Jesus wins in the end and where we stand with him.
That's where I draw my hope.
My hope is in Christ.
He redeemed me, he saved me, he changed the corrupted man into the man I am today.
And I give him all the glory.
And if you are depressed or suicidal or in a tough situation, remember that God has your back.
And we know how the story ends.
Truth wins in the end.
God bless you.
Thank you so much, Arthur Pilowski.
Well, there you have it.
In the end, truth wins.
Arthur Pileowski is certainly not going to bow down.
There he is, reporting directly to us from prison with an exclusive interview.
This has been Rebel News, and I'm Adam Sos.
I want to thank you so much for being there for us and with us.
Thank you.
And the lawyers did their best, two of them.
And we're going to have a trial this next Thursday, a week from now.
And what's the plan from here?
Well, we're going home.
We're going to eat something.
We're going to take a shower, change.
I mean, I was taken with my brother straight from church.
Remand Risks00:15:42
I did not eat since Friday.
So we're looking forward to be reunited with our families.
And then we will have to start meeting with lawyers.
Lawyers, thank to rebel news, lawyers that are going to advise us what we can, what we cannot, how we should go from here.
Because this is a fight to the dead.
Those people are not kidding.
They wound us down.
They want us destroyed, behind the bars or killed.
I mean, there was no question the police roughed me up.
I had bruises for two days.
I still have bruises.
can still see which is uh well you know they're gone now Which is quite bad.
But it was pretty bad.
Same with my left shoulder.
Yeah, they threw me behind the police like a piece of meat, head down, feet up.
So for an hour, I was almost upside down, sitting on my hands and the handcuffs.
If you've ever been arrested and the way they put the handcuffs on, you know that's extremely, extremely painful.
Those wannabe Nazis, they know how to hurt you if they want to, and they did their best.
Well, for over a year, I have been telling people about the overreach, about abuse of power, about harassment, intimidation, medical tyranny, because that's what we are witnessing right now.
It's a hybrid between fascism and communism.
It's something totally new.
Medical tyranny that uses the armed forces of the government and the political power.
We were political prisoners for 53 hours.
I mean, I'll never imagine that I would be living again in a country where pastors, out of all the villains on the planet, are pastors, will be arrested in the middle of the highway, not for planning terrorist attack, not for Looking to hurt people, but because we opened the church and we were singing songs and praying for people.
I mean, this is absolute insanity.
Adam Soap's here for Rebel News with a troubling update.
Pastor Tim Stevens of Fairview Baptist Church has been arrested for proceeding with worship today.
For those of you not familiar with Pastor Tim Stevens, he's nothing like Pastor Arthur Pavlowski.
He's a quiet, reserved man who is simply leading his congregation in worship.
He didn't make this a large political deal.
He wasn't an outspoken opponent to the authorities.
He simply wanted to proceed with worship.
Well, in Alberta, in this day and age, apparently that is not to be tolerated.
So he was cornered today after worship by a large police force, he and his family.
I just got off the line with our videographer K2 who was on the scene and he told me it was the hardest thing he has ever seen.
The family of pastors Tim Stevens was weeping as he was hauled away in cuffs like some common criminals.
This is a devastating and heartbreaking development.
That is three pastors arrested in Alberta.
absolutely unbelievable.
So it's from the Pex who's okay.
You can only let me keep it.
We can take his cell phone and he can go access his phone numbers when he says he likes.
No, sorry.
Not while he's in a while he's in a place.
Protect and serve, right?
Don't be late to turn it around, guys!
Adam Sos here for Rebel News and I'm here with Pastor Tim Stevens fresh off his release from the Remand Center in Calgary.
I thought we'd just take a minute to maybe chat.
Most people maybe haven't gotten a chance to know you yet and they've just seen sort of the footage of you being cornered and arrested.
So maybe if you could just give us a quick little update about sort of how you became the pastor of Fairview, your history in Calgary, just kind of an update on who you are.
Yeah, I grew up in a farming community in Eastern Ontario and came out to Calgary after university just for a job here.
And I was actuallyn't a Christian at the time and worked here in the oil and gas field as an engineer, as a software developer.
And someone actually sent me a Christian sermon and that began the thinking process of me and my wife that led to our conversion in 2008 and just wanted to know more about God and about the Lord Jesus Christ.
And so I went off to seminary for three years and then back to Calgary in 2014 to be a pastor.
And so I've been at Fairview Baptist Church as a pastor since 2014.
And then you mentioned your wife, Sue.
I gather you have a rather large family.
I think I saw them in the footage there.
Yes, my wife.
And we have eight young children from 12 down to a few months old.
And so you can imagine we love children.
And of course, the scriptures put a high value on family.
And so it's a joy to be a father and a pastor and a husband.
Wonderful.
Great.
So now we can get into sort of the less pleasant details, maybe.
We actually met a week prior to your arrest and at worship on Sunday at Fairview Baptist Church here in Calgary.
And you suspected that there was a chance that you might actually be arrested that day.
I know you were kind of getting ready for that.
But that didn't happen.
Maybe we can talk a little bit about the context, what worship has been like under these COVID restrictions, and what led you to the decision to remain open despite the restrictions.
Yeah.
Well, the restrictions have fluctuated over this past year.
But we as a congregation together have made the decision that when it comes to commands that were given by the state that conflict or contradict the commands we have from God's word, that we will obey God rather than men.
And so we gave much deference to our government at the start of this pandemic.
But as things didn't materialize the way they said it was, we figured it was more important to worship Christ the way that he's called us to worship.
And so we started gathering again to worship last May, and we've been doing so.
And we've been free from infections or outbreaks or sicknesses in our church.
And as restrictions have gotten tighter and tighter, of course, that has put more pressure upon us as a congregation.
I've received a number of tickets and court summons, but we felt it was still important to obey the Lord Jesus Christ.
And it's been a sweet time of worship and fellowship together.
More people have flocked to our church during this time because whether their churches are closed or for different reasons, even people who don't believe in God have been coming to be part of what we were doing.
And so it's been a real treasure and a real joy.
Now, most recently, the restrictions are down just to 15 people.
So essentially, churches are closed and you have to do online.
But that wouldn't be faithful to what God has called us to do.
And on May 6, there was a broad injunction across our province, essentially implicating every Albertan who is going to have an illegal gathering.
Just it's an incredible overreach by our government to do such a thing.
And so we knew that the heat was turning up.
But yet the fact that the consequences were rising and an arrest could be possible for myself.
The consequences don't change our convictions.
Our convictions are still the church must gather to be the church, and we still must worship Christ the way he's called us to worship.
And so it made it difficult.
But at the end, our decision was still we must gather.
So on that note, you mentioned that more people have been flogging to the church.
It's a pattern we've noticed.
People are seeking Christian principal worship.
Pastor Archer Pavlowski said that he might have 12, 20, 30 people that he worshiped with at Street Church join him for worship on Saturday.
Now you're seeing hundreds gathering.
Pastor James Coates is in a similar situation where more people are flocking to him.
Have you been in communication with the other pastors who've also been arrested for continuing with worship?
I've been a friend of James Coates even before all this.
We were acquaintances, but our friendship has grown through this time as we've kind of have the exact same convictions about the church and as we've walked through this journey and the threats of enforcement that have come against us.
And so our friendship has really, really grown through this time.
So we can get down to the arrest, I suppose, what actually went down that day.
First off, though, you talked about the increasing pressure on the church, and it's come out very recently that apparently Tyler Chandrow specifically instructed that specific people who are considered high-profile offenders be targeted.
Have you felt that there's been a targeted persecution against your other Christian pastors specifically?
What's sort of your impression on what's been going on?
What's interesting is there's been a few voices that have been vocal against us, whether that's on Twitter or in the media.
But for the most part, what we've heard from people in the community and from people who've been contacting our church is mostly positive.
People are very supportive of what we're doing.
And so It's been difficult that way in knowing that there are a few but very powerful people who stand against us, but yet you have a wide base of support among Albertans in general.
And we, our church at Fairview, is right in Minister Chandro's writing.
And so I've written to him many times.
I've written to the premier over this last year, but all of the correspondence has essentially gone unanswered.
Just simple emails back.
Basically, here are the guidelines.
You need to comply.
And it seems I've noticed, even talking to Pastor Archer, that they seem to offer olive branches when they know they won't be received.
And then yourself and James Coates have both sort of endeavored to have these communications with the government and they've gone unanswered.
So that's extremely problematic.
All this pressure, of course, culminated on Sunday after worship.
And we saw the sort of daunting footage of police corning your family.
Maybe if you could just tell us what that experience was like for you.
Yeah, it was a bit of a shock because what happened earlier that week, in fact, the previous Sunday, the police came, I believe, to serve me the injunction, but they actually gave it to somebody else.
I found out later.
So I had never seen that copy of the injunction.
But then as the week developed, the Justice Center of Constitutional Freedoms, which represents myself and James Coates, they went to court and essentially had that, at least the intention was, to have that restraining order or that court injunction narrowed down just to be the whistle stop and those connected with the whistle stop.
And so going into Sunday, we thought this was going to be a Sunday where we'll be free from any harassment from the authorities.
And so we had a great time of worship and fellowship together as a church.
And then in the parking lot afterwards, the police were still around but hadn't come out of their vehicles.
We weren't sure what they were there to do.
And I got a phone call from a sergeant who was back in an office somewhere saying, you know, Pastor Stevens, you will be arrested today.
And he wanted my wife and my children to leave for their sake.
And I said, no, I prefer to have my wife and children here.
And he was very insistent that they ought to leave.
And so he let me talk to my wife for a bit.
He says, I'll phone you back in a few minutes.
And so I went and told my wife.
She says, well, I'm not leaving.
And so he called back and I said, no, my family is going to stay here.
And I think it wasn't necessarily that they were concerned about the trauma to the children.
I think they were concerned about the image that would be upon the Calgary police.
And I've pleaded with some of the officers.
I know the Calgary Police Service is recognized as a great police service.
And to see the things that are going on today, I'm just hoping that it doesn't ruin their reputation for a long time, that they're part of ripping a father away from his family and his eight children who are in tears because I held a church service and brought me to the remand center where I spent two nights there when there's been no harm done from our church to the community.
There was no crime.
There was nothing deserving of jail.
And yet they would be part of that.
It's really unjust.
Well, and particularly the show of force.
If an officer walked up to you and said you're under arrest, you wouldn't fight them.
You're a peaceful man.
You follow the example of Christ in that instance.
Two SWAT vehicles and five SUVs and helicopters flying overhead.
I mean, in all these cases, there's been a clearly disproportionate show of force as though they're attempting to make an example of you.
So I appreciate that.
I know lots of officers are struggling with this.
Lots of Calgary police are having a tough time enforcing these measures.
But one of the other concerns that other pastors have mentioned was the treatment once actually in jail.
So if you can tell us about what your experience was actually like at court and then actually being placed in prison for leading worship.
Yeah, the difficult thing about going to jail and specifically the remand center because I was held in a holding cell at the police station for a few hours before going to remand.
And remand is a maximum security prison.
And so whether you're a pastor going to church or whether you're a ruthless murderer, you're in the same spot and you're treated the exact same way.
And so whether that's a strip search, whether that's being held in shackles, all of that is part of it.
The most difficult thing about it is when you're in there, and especially even because of COVID, you have so little contact with your lawyers or with those on the outside.
And so going even into my hearing on Monday, I asked the remand center and then again at the courthouse to speak to my lawyer.
But because of COVID, my lawyer wasn't actually there and there was no way to communicate and some of the guards weren't that helpful.
And so I went into that trial or that hearing without even being able to contact my lawyer beforehand.
So it just felt like this was just adding to the injustice of it, that they would put me there.
And then that I would really have no way to vocalize to my legal defense, you know, what we should be doing as we stand before that judge.
And you're not the first person.
Numerous pastors have waited a day to speak to their lawyer, which is an extremely concerning thing to consider as far as your experience.
You have a right to talk to your lawyer and they grant that to the most extreme criminals and thugs.
And here a pastor can't even speak to his lawyer to decide how to go forward.
Maybe talk now about your experience within Remand, actually what that was like for you.
Yeah, well, they asked what section of remand I wanted to go.
And there's a few different options.
And I didn't really know.
I've never been any experience being in prison before.
And so I was put into general population, which is essentially, you know, there's a pod with a few tables and then cells on a lower level and an upper level.
And so I was placed on a cell in the upper level and I had a roommate.
And because we were new to the Remand Center, both of us, we were on quarantine because of COVID.
Spreading Truth00:14:52
And so if I was to stay there for any length of time, essentially you get a half hour out of your cell during that day.
And so once you're in there, at least in the remand, you had a few blankets and a thin pad to sleep on.
The holding cells didn't have any of those luxuries.
But so you essentially were there in your room.
And another challenge of being in remand is there's not really instructions or an awareness of really what's going on.
And so essentially you just wait for someone to tell you what to do.
And then you hope that what you've done is not the wrong thing to do.
And so you kind of just muddle your way around trying to figure out when is it time to go or when they're going to bring food or when you can call.
And so that was part of the challenge is us not knowing what's going on.
And so as a Christian, you're prepared and willing to face those consequences for your faith.
But did you ever think that in Canada, in Calgary, in this hub of freedom, strong and free, you'd be stuck in such a situation just for living out your faith?
No, it is really incredible to believe this has happened here in Calgary, here in Alberta.
I know other pastors across this country, and they had always viewed Alberta as like the land of the free, that if it got too bad in their province, that they would come to Alberta to a place of freedom.
And then to know that here in Alberta, they've jailed now three pastors and this is not over yet.
I I don't imagine this is going to end anytime soon.
Uh, there's been a real, real change and shift uh in in the political landscape, even among conservatives, about the role of the government and about the use of force and enforcement, and so i'm i'm continually shocked that i'm in this place as a pastor seeking to to care for my flock and care for my family.
You know, Jason Kenney mentioned in his victory speech that Alberta is an idea where where responsibility is given to the people rather than an impersonal bureaucratic state.
And what we're seeing now is an impersonal bureaucratic state, you know, govern the life of my family to tell me who I can have in my home, actually forbid anybody from coming in my home, where I ought to go, forbidding or restricting what we do as a church to worship.
And so these are clear violations of not only the scriptures, but they're clear violations of our charter rights and freedoms.
And they've been continuing month after month after month.
There's no recourse.
The courts are so slow.
Our politicians are not answering.
And so what recourse do we have but to continue to live our lives as peacefully and as best that we can in the face of such, you know, really a totalitarian kind of government that is encroaching upon the citizens of Alberta.
And it's incredible.
I can't believe it.
So in the face of all this, I think most pastors have sent some sort of message to Jason Kenney, and it seems that he's not listening.
So I'll ask you instead for a final remark to your fellow Christians throughout the province.
To my fellow Christians, I would just encourage them to obey Christ first and foremost.
I know a lot of Christians have given much deference to the government as month and month has gone by, but I would encourage you to, where is that line before you must say, no, I will obey Christ here.
I will practice hospitality.
I will go and I'll practice the ordinances.
I will gather together as the church.
There has to be some kind of line in our mind.
Otherwise, that line will keep on shifting as the government keeps on moving their goalposts.
And we're never going to stand for the Lord Jesus Christ.
I wouldn't be in this situation if the church in this province was more united on this front.
This could have been over a long time ago.
These restrictions could have been done for the people of Alberta and not just Christians a long time ago if we would just stand together.
We've seen that in other places of the world.
If we just stay and say, no, this is our freedom, this is our responsibility, and we're going to live our lives.
The government doesn't have the power to throw us all in jail.
Warning.
Censorship.
Warning.
Censorship.
I have a valid court order here today requiring the sheriff, that's me, and the assistants of the police to vacate everyone from the building, and we will be locking the building.
Historic moment, folks.
Historic moment.
It's very historic.
What's happening here right now?
You would have never thought, you would have never thought that this country could so fast slide into something like this.
Young people, what you're seeing with your eyes here this morning, this is what happens.
This is what happens when you don't guard.
This is what happens when you let those things slip.
Let's open up the businesses.
Let's allow people to live.
And if there is an issue somewhere and if the virus is somewhere in an area, let's be careful.
We will isolate like we did here at the beginning when they said we need to need to flatten the curve, which probably now is one of the most popular things, words in the dictionary, flatten the curve.
We did that.
We closed down.
But then very soon we found out there was something else behind it.
And I am standing up for humanity at the peril of my life, whatever it takes.
We have the Bible, like I said, we have the Charter.
We have the Bill of Rights.
We have the Criminal Code.
What else do I need?
Let us just be real Canadians, like the Honorable Deafen Baker said.
Let us be free Canadians.
Let's worship God.
Let the people worship God, those that want to worship God.
And let the businesses open up.
Let the families live.
Don't torture them any longer.
David Menzies for Rebel News here in Elmer, Ontario.
And folks, I'm once again back at the Church of God.
As you might notice, its sign has been vandalized by the oh-so-tolerant pro-lockdown people.
And I regret to inform you that the Church of God on Friday, well, a judge agreed that it was time to put new locks on the exterior doors of the church.
This is for allegedly continually violating the COVID-19 orders.
Along with that order came fines of $117,000, including legal fees, to this church.
And no, the church does not have that kind of money laying around in the collection plate.
But as they say in show business, the show, or in this case, the service must go on.
People are going to congregate outside Pastor Henry Hildebrandt.
He is not bending the knee.
It is a beautiful spring day.
And one wonders what the next step is.
You know that the haters will be here.
The mainstream media, which in turn hates this church, they'll be here.
Law enforcement will be here.
The counter protesters will be here.
And I know this will be a fantastic sermon today.
I just wonder what the next step will be when it comes to trying to shut down Pastor Hildebrandt and the Church of God.
In the meantime, let's see what the pastor has to say to his congregation.
I would like to call, take this opportunity and go worldwide and say, man, let's be real man.
Let's, let's lead.
Let's lead again like it should be.
Let's lead.
Let's lead our families in a safe way.
Let's be what we need to be.
Now we are seeing the people are waking up fast and saying, what is going on?
I'm so sorry having to say it like this.
We are making a mockery out of our law system.
Our governments presently allow unelected health officials to force our judges to turn law-abiding citizens into criminals.
I can't wait for the day.
I can't wait for the day where one of our premiers will rise up and act borly.
Can't wait for one of them to get up and say, enough is enough.
Well, folks, I'm with Pastor Henry Hildebrand.
First of all, Pastor, awesome service, very appreciative crowd.
I want to touch upon what you said at one point, which I think is so profound and is really the crux of the matter.
And that is we have a legion of unelected, non-accountable public health officials that are suddenly invested with powers that they never should have had, including in your case and in many others, going to a judge and getting your church, your place of worship, locked down, having locksmiths come in and lock you out of your own church.
How did we get to this point?
That's what struck me this week.
And that's why I know those might be strong words, but that's why I'm saying, what else is it but medical dictatorship?
Because we have these unelected officials, like you said.
We have them making a decision and our government, who was elected to stand by the Constitution, it's all pushed aside.
Like I said this morning, our scriptures versus scripture versus engraved in stone at the Peace Tower at Parliament.
We have 25 scriptures apparently there.
Where has that gone?
It's very, very, very troubling.
And then, like I said, when the health officials tell us what their proof is, it is no proof.
It is no proof because of what they're bringing forth.
The data they're bringing forth is not the cure that they are offering is way worse than the virus is.
Why is it that an outdoor religious gathering in Elmer, Ontario is offside?
But if these were Black Lives Matter demonstrators, the cops not only put their ticket books away, they bend a knee in solidarity.
Right, exactly.
And none of us can help but to be reminded of that.
What happened last year in the middle of the year when those gatherings were taking place?
Why was that not an issue?
Why was that not an issue?
And why, if they said that these were super spreaders, if they were, why aren't they super spreaders?
I mean, we see the people in Montreal on the streets.
We see them somewhere else, and they have been in Toronto throughout the year.
Thousands of people, of course, they don't report that.
But I'm saying, why is there no super spreading?
I have come to the conclusion, I say, okay, if you want to call this a super spreader event, it's spreading happiness.
It's spreading happiness and normalcy.
Yeah, what is normal these days indeed?
Another thing I want to touch upon, Pastor Hildebrand, you were justifiably so, in my opinion, condemning the mainstream media.
And I think we have witnessed such egregious unfair coverage of your situation.
I want to read the lead paragraph from the London Free Press about what happened on Friday.
And it says, residents in this quaint town of 7,000 are reacting with relief after authorities padlocked the doors of the Church of God over its ongoing defiance of COVID-19 restrictions.
This suggests to me, Pastor, that the people of Elmer go to bed shaking like a leaf, thinking, oh my goodness, this Church of God, this super spreader event, it's going to bring death to us.
Is this reality?
So I'm saying if that was relief, what they saw, how must they feel today?
Because here we are, and this is not the end of it.
This is not the end of it.
Actually, to be fair, and that is the biggest troublesome thing that we see today, is that the media does not cover it.
It's not the truth.
Because in order for them to tell the truth, they would have to say there is some residents in Elmer that are against it, and there's many that are supporting it, or at least report the truth.
Tell the truth, because this does not tell the truth.
No, you're absolutely right.
I think maybe you should be the editor of the London Free Press.
Maybe we have more paragraphs.
Before they send it out, before they send it out, let's just spread truth.
Let's just start spreading truth.
And why do they not, why does the mainstream media not want to tell?
Why do they, my question is, will you not tell, or why don't you tell, when there's hundreds and thousands in the streets of Montreal?
Let us know at least what did they want?
What did the people want there?
But to me, this smells so bad when I see not a word is said.
But if there is two people, I'm sorry, but if there's two people that agree with Justin Trullot, that makes world news.
Why?
Indeed, maybe it's because, Pastor, that the media is in the tank for the Liberal Party.
The CBC gets funded to the tune of $1.5 billion, $600 million for the newspapers.
McLean's gets funded.
There's some other bailouts because they couldn't exist without that money.
So you got a question, how can that not be a conflict of interest when the government is paying you for your journalism?
You're really going to be more of a watchdog than say a lapdog?
Exactly, exactly.
I think we have all seen very, very clearly that that is a problem.
They're paid by the government.
They are their little puppies going around just telling what they want them to tell, recording what they want them to record, spreading what they want them to spread.
We need media that will tell the truth and tell the complete truth.
Tell us all what exactly is going on and listen to the people.
Listen to the people because the government, the Constitution was created for the people, not for the government.
So somebody needs to listen to the people and tell the government what the people are wanting.
And Pastor Hillebrand, the other question I have is what we see as an ongoing odious trend on war on religion.
And it's not just you.
Look what happened last week, that shameful and dangerous takedown of Pastor Arthur Pawowski out in Calgary, arrested on his knees on a wet highway that wasn't even closed.
There was no reason for that kind of street theater.
He's not a violent man by any means.
Would you like to weigh in on how the Calgary police treated Arthur?
I think they're trying to make a case.
I think they're trying to say, well, let's treat this this way.
And hopefully this will scare every other pastor in the country.
Except that it does the exact opposite.
When we see that they treat somebody like that, I mean animal-like, or I don't know what you want to call that, but to drag somebody.
Scaring Pastors?00:14:37
I mean, all it took is one little motorcycle to follow him to his home, turn their little lights on, and say, Pastor, we're giving you a ticket for this, or we're arresting you or whatever.
But do you want to make a scene?
But you know what?
That scene has helped the Christians so very much across this world and not just the Christians.
People have woken up and say, look, because yesterday it was Adam Scalli, I'm saying figuratively speaking.
Yesterday was Adam Scalli.
Today it's us.
Who is it tomorrow?
Tomorrow it's those people that today are mad that we're here.
So I'm saying people wake up, wake up because your rights are taken.
And Pastor Art was made an example for people to see, look, this is what happens when you do that.
But did it work?
No, it didn't.
And it has never worked.
When you oppress the people of God, it just, they dismultiply.
You know, I hope you're right.
You brought in the name Adam Skelly of Adamson's BBQ.
We were there for all three days in late November, Pastor.
And what we saw there, the mounted unit, it was literally all the king's horses and all the king's men coming in to shut him down.
He was also given a bill afterwards for the law enforcement cost, $187,000.
And to me, this was Dr. Eileen Davila, who I call the mayor.
I think John Torrey's the deputy mayor.
I think she leads him around by the nose.
But I think that was her sending a message to all the other business people out there.
If you dare do what this guy's doing, how do you like showing up on the six o'clock news, handcuffed and being thrown in a police cruiser?
And it might have worked because I've never seen any critical mass since then of businesses opening up.
Do you think this is another tactic of the government, of bureaucrats, of health officials, and that is to use intimidation to scare people into complying?
Absolutely, absolutely.
And then, so they do that, they lock those doors, and then they add to that, here's your fine, here's the church's fine, and you'll pay our lawyers.
I'm listening to it, and they're saying, okay, so the total comes to $117,000 that we're finding the church.
What else do you think that is, but to intimidate the rest of the country?
What will happen?
What will happen?
I don't know.
We don't have $117,000, but let me tell you something.
It's not about the money.
It's not about the money because God owns the cattle on a thousand hills, the Bible says.
So I'm saying God knows why this is happening.
And I say my answer, part answer was this morning already here.
Look at the people because we couldn't nearly fit all these people in there.
And this is just the beginning.
This is just the beginning.
So I'm sorry to say it like this, but it actually helped us out greatly.
It's supposed to intimidate us, but it puts power in us.
We're not a people of, God has not given us the spirit of fear.
God has given us the spirit of power.
So this just empowers us and tells us this is what the human family should be doing.
I mean, listen to the children, listen to the young people.
I mean, listen to the birds.
They're joining right in.
This is just what humanity should be doing.
And you know, Pastor, on that note, I kind of have some fear in my heart for you in terms of the fact that we know the people, the haters, the mainstream media, the police observing today's service, they don't like what you've done.
I am fearful they will ramp up your harassment, the intimidation on you.
You might be the next Pastor Arthur Pavlowski.
Are you afraid about that?
I'll say this very respectfully.
I am not afraid of it.
If I did not have God, I would quit today.
But because I have God, the Bible says in multiple, multiple, multiple places, what shall man do unto me?
When my turn comes and I need to go to jail, then I'll go to jail.
If my faith is not worth dying for, it's not worth living for.
Well said.
And Pastor, you know, again, I want to focus on the double standards at play here.
You can't have a church service at your Church of God, and yet I believe it's 300, 400 meters down the road here.
There's a no-for-all supermarket.
I don't begrudge their open.
Heck, we need food.
Absolutely.
But if we go right now, I bet you it's filled to capacity.
There's a lineup waiting to go outside the door.
Again, we're always told that science driving these initiatives.
How is it that I can't go to a church, but I can get into a big box store and the virus won't affect me?
How do you square that logic?
Sure.
I think it's actually quite simple.
Walmart is no threat to them.
Norfolk store is no threat to them, but the churches are.
The churches are a real threat to our government because they definitely do not want to recognize that there's a group of people that have a higher king over them than them, that have a higher power over them.
And I assume that must be very intimidating.
You know, it's fascinating, isn't it, Pastor?
I mean, if we go back a century ago in this province, it was prohibition.
You had to go to something called a speakeasy, a room where illegal booze was served.
Now, not only is liquor legal, but the government runs the booze racket and exempts themselves from, you know, the COVID-19 closure regulations.
The new speakeasies are churches, our gyms, you know, places where people go for the health of the body and the health of the spirit and the mind.
Don't you find this perversely ironic, how things have just gone so upside down in the space of a century?
Very, very ironic, very ironic.
And I think that is part of the reason why people are waking up because it is just too obvious.
It's just too obvious.
Why is that open and this not?
What is going on here?
So I look at things by nature.
I'm a positive person.
I look at things positively.
So I don't want to believe, I don't want to believe that it is an attack on churches, but it just is because they're making it so obvious that we see that it is.
And the double standard is really, really bad.
When we find out that the judges are somewhere in holidays or this one is traveling and we weren't supposed to travel.
And then all I can say is if Jesus was here, he would show them, he would tell them, you hypocrite.
And that's what I don't hate them.
I don't hate them.
I mean, I'm glad somebody's traveling.
I wish we all could do it.
But don't tell us you can't, but this can be done.
I'm wondering, what has been the personal toll all this harassment and intimidation has taken on you and your family members?
Well, like you said, I'm a human being.
These are arms, not wings.
So it does hurt.
It does hurt when they lock the building.
It does hurt when they harass you.
It does hurt when they put all kinds of posters in town and all kinds of lies about you and all kinds spread, all kinds of things.
It does hurt when they show things to our children and grandchildren that are very, very, very unbecoming.
It does hurt, but it has strengthened my resolve.
It has assured me that I'm doing something right or else they wouldn't oppose it so strongly.
And I can say today that I can look at them.
I do not feel hatred.
I can look them in the eye.
I told an officer, I said, sir, just so you know, I'm standing up for your children and your grandchildren.
Okay, well, Pastor, the last word goes to you, to all those, whether it's law enforcement, judges, public health officials, protesters, haters online, to all those that want to see your church shut down, your congregation denied a place to worship.
What do you have to say to them?
Well, I would say don't be jealous of us.
Just do the same.
Just do the same.
Open up.
Let's open up the businesses.
Let's allow people to live.
And if there is an issue somewhere and if the virus is somewhere in an area, let's be careful.
We will isolate like we did here at the beginning when they said we need to flatten the curve, which probably now is one of the most popular things, words in the dictionary, flatten the curve.
We did that.
We closed down.
But then very soon we found out there was something else behind it.
And I am standing up for humanity at the peril of my life, whatever it takes.
We have the Bible.
Like I said, we have the Charter.
We have the Bill of Rights.
We have the Criminal Code.
What else do I need?
Let us just be real Canadians, like the Honorable Deputy Baker said.
Let us be free Canadians.
Let's worship God.
Let the people worship God, those that want to worship God.
And let the businesses open up.
Let the families live.
Don't torture them any longer.
Okay, so this morning, we are here as legal as you can get.
I mean, I'm a Canadian.
My name is in here.
And I'm a free Canadian.
Free to worship God.
Free to free, free, free to stand for what is right.
Listen, the Constitution was created to protect the people from the government.
Not the other way around.
Not the other way around.
Not the way around.
Not the other way around.
So we have the Charter on our side.
It says first the very beginning, God is supreme and you will be worshiping.
Listen, when our fathers came here, they said, let's make sure that no tyrants will ever, ever, ever do something.
And they said, let's make sure we have it first.
Free to worship God, free to assemble.
Got the Bill of Rights rights here.
And if that wasn't enough, is there another one?
Yes.
So call criminal code.
And it says, if any judge, sorry, not judge, if anybody ever interferes with the people worshiping God, they are in contravention of the criminal code.
Well, folks, I am with Salim Mansoor.
You probably recognize the name in the face.
He ran for the People's Party of Canada in London.
Saleem, what did you make of the pastor's remarks today?
I found it fascinating, and I think he was bang on, that we have unelected, non-accountable health officials going to judges and basically turning law-abiding citizens into criminals for things like this, a gathering.
The pastor's voice has become the trumpet of all of our voices that we cannot voice it.
And Pastor is, you know, broadcasting what tens and thousands and millions of Canadians deep in their heart feel and feel not at this moment, but for the past one year.
There's nothing been like this before in our history.
And yes, yes, unelected health officials are imposing their distorted view of their Mickey Mouse science and making an experiment out of the people of Canada.
And the worst criminals are our elected representatives.
Do you see in terms of Pastor Hildebrandt this situation escalating?
I'm sure the authorities, the police, the mainstream media, they're going to take a dim view of this gathering.
Is that what awaits this pastor being dragged away in a police car?
Well, here it is.
You know, you know who I am, so here it is.
We have to parse the word.
Escalating, we are people gathering together to worship.
We are people gathering together to hold each other's hand.
You know, you know that I am a Muslim.
Jesus is my Christ, Messiah, in the Quran.
The Muslims have forgotten that.
And this government and all the governments have been trading one people against the other to splinter and fragment it.
What did Justin Trudeau say in October of 2015?
He said, welcome to a Canada that is postmodern and without any core identity.
Is that why Mackenzie King sent Canadians to die in the beaches of Dieppe?
We have no core identity?
He also said that back then that the budget will balance itself and maybe with all these fines, maybe it will, who knows?
But Salim, always a pleasure to talk to you.
Excellent question.
Are you going to be running for the PPC in London whenever the next election is called?
Well, I'm waiting for the song to ring in my ear and I'm going to consult with the pastor.
Because we have to, whether I run or don't run, we the people have to take back a country that is bring God back into our life.
We have become a country that is godless.
It's godlessness has become our faith or religion and we have to take it back.
It seems that following God is illegal increasingly in Canada, which is a downright shame.
Well, I mean, it is illegal, and the people who have made it illegal, they're following the demon.
That is their God.
You can't have it both way.
I mean, there is no, in the cosmos, a vacuum.
So if they want to create a vacuum for us, that is, you know, worshiping God is illegal, then the question goes back to them.
What is it that you stand?
What is your premise?
What is your axiom from which you make your move?
Salim, always a pleasure, my friend.
Is any of that okay?
How is it that other church leaders are silent and some of them even putting out condemnations of these Christian churches?
How can people square the difference?
How can they reconcile cheering for churches to be locked down while then going to Walmart or Costco?
How is that possible?
How is it possible to write laws, as Alberta has done, saying that only five or ten people are allowed at a church, a hard fixed number no matter how large the church is, but the businesses like Costco can open based on a percentage of their fire code space.
Why are you specifically treating churches lower and less freely than churches of commerce like Walmart?
How is this even possible?
And how can this just be swept away and normalized by all the institutions from police chiefs to politicians and the government and the opposition to the media to lawyers and courts and law professors?
Is that how easily we give up on these freedoms?
I find it deeply depressing.
Fighting Back Against Fines00:00:53
We are fighting back.
Pastor Arthur Pavlovsky is one of the cases.
I recommend his website, savearthor.com.
We have other websites where we defend churches.
We have some important victories.
Sheila Gunri did a video the other day, as you know, about winning the case in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.
A $14,000 fine against that church was dropped after our lawyer at Fight the Fines went to battle.
So there is some hope out there, but I feel fairly hopeless.
Sorry, I shouldn't say that because I don't want to get you down.
It's a terrible battle.
We will fight it, and hopefully we will win.
We've had some wins.
I don't want to be despondent.
Well, that's a show.
Bit of a downer, eh?
Like I say, it's not the best of, it's the worst of.
But we'll keep fighting for freedom.
And if you want to help us, you know how you can.
That's the show for today.
Until tomorrow, on behalf of all of us here at Rebel World Headquarters, to you at home.