An Alberta court has ruled that a pastor who defied COVID-19 restrictions must remain in jail for eight weeks as he waits for his trial. Pastor James Coates of Edmonton’s GraceLife church was charged with one count of breaking the Public Health Act after continuing to hold Sunday services despite a fine to the church and an order to close down. Coates has been detained at the Edmonton Remand Centre since Feb. 16, after he refused to sign a bail condition (pdf) to abide by provincial health orders. The Queen’s Bench Justice Peter Michalyshyn made the decision on Friday that Coates must remain in jail before his trial, which is set to take place from May 3 to 5, 2021, in the Alberta Provincial Court in Stony Plain. The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, a Calgary-based legal charity, which will be representing Coates and GraceLife Church in court, stated in a news …