Church petitions British Columbia’s top court to overturn city’s ban on youth conference
A Christian church in British Columbia has petitioned the province's top court to reverse a city's 2018 decision to cancel the church's booking of a city-owned center for a youth conference after the city took issue with one of the event's Christian speakers. Grace Chapel is a parish of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, located in downtown New Westminster. Part of Grace Chapel’s vision is to “build a multi-ethnic, diverse church where people of every nation in our community will worship God…” Grace Chapel does not have a church building of its own. Church events are held in rented spaces, including the municipally-owned and managed Anvil Centre. As explained in a recently filed affidavit , on May 25, the City of New Westminster signed a contract with Grace Chapel to rent a portion of the Anvil Centre. The rental was for a youth conference to be held on July 21, 2018. On June 21, 2018, a media article was published which included a picture of a poster for the confer