The Supreme Court of Canada has decided not to hear an appeal by several churches that fought Manitoba’s COVID-19 restrictions.

Lawyers for the churches argued public health orders in 2020 and 2021 that temporarily closed in-person religious services, then permitted them with caps on attendance, violated the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

They lost that argument in two lower courts.

The Manitoba Court of Appeal ruled last year the restrictions were necessary to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and allowable under the Charter.