Lawyers for two churches and three individuals pressed Deena Hinshaw on need for, and success of, public health measures
Hinshaw is testifying in the civil trial for a court case that began in December 2020 — not even a year into the COVID-19 pandemic — when two churches and three individuals filed a lawsuit against the provincial government, seeking an end to mask mandates and regulations around in-person gatherings.
It has taken more than a year for the case to come to trial and the COVID restrictions objected to in the court filing have since been dropped by the Alberta government, but the applicants wish the court to weigh in on the constitutionality of the public-health measures. “Was it ever contemplated or considered,” Grey asked, that instead of implementing restrictions, Albertans could be trusted “to make their own choices instead of removing those choices and restricting their liberty?”
At points, Grey pressed Hinshaw to admit the provincial government had used misinformation to convince Albertans to “buy in” or “comply” with the government “narrative” around COVID-19 and that the government sought to change people’s values around personal freedom to get them to follow the rules. We could not prevent the health-care system from becoming overwhelmed without using restrictive measuresGrey asked Hinshaw whether the “social and societal cost” of preventing religious Albertans from gathering in large groups over the holidays had been considered.