Witness Testimony

Randy Banks testified that as a rural Ontario pastor whose ministry strength is pastoral caregiving, the most damaging aspect of pandemic restrictions was the prohibition of hospital, long-term care, and home visitation. For extended periods, he was unable to enter hospitals or retirement homes, and many congregants were afraid to allow visits in their homes. He stated that this particularly affected end-of-life care, where he felt unable to provide the level of spiritual and emotional support families had traditionally received.
He described a specific incident in which he ministered to a dying man through an open nursing home window, speaking and praying through a screen while the patient lay unconscious inside. He could only see the man’s feet at the end of the bed, and communication with the hard-of-hearing spouse inside the room was difficult. He testified that the situation felt dehumanizing and inadequate, and that the man later died, with his funeral limited to ten attendees. He also noted cases where funerals were capped at ten people regardless of venue, and one outdoor funeral was limited to only three people.
Banks testified that prior to the pandemic, pastoral visits were unrestricted in duration and welcomed by care facilities, allowing him to move freely between rooms and spend as much time as needed. During the pandemic, he felt that pastoral presence was deprioritized and treated as non-essential. He stated that some families initially postponed celebration-of-life services but ultimately abandoned them due to prolonged restrictions. He concluded that the spiritual and emotional harm caused by visitation and funeral limits cannot be undone and continues to affect families and clergy alike.