Alberta’s highest court has upheld the mischief conviction of a Calgary pastor who was found guilty of inciting protesters to block the highway at the Coutts border crossing in 2022.
The Alberta Court of Appeal ruled Oct. 29 that Pastor Artur Pawlowski “did not act with legal justification” when he “incited” protesters to continue blocking Highway 4 in Coutts, Alta.
The province’s highest court issued its unanimous ruling seven weeks after final arguments were heard by a panel of three judges.
Pawlowski was sentenced to 60 days in jail in May of 2023 after Justice Gordon Krinke found him guilty of counselling mischief. The pastor was released following the verdict because he had already served 78 days in pre-trial custody….