Sask. Man Charged With Arson in Connection With Church Burning

The RCMP has arrested a 28-year-old Saskatchewan man and charged him with arson in connection with a church fire that destroyed a nearly 70-year-old building last month.

Meadow Lake RCMP received a report of a fire at All Saints Orthodox Church in Meadow Lake around 2 a.m. on Oct. 1. Officers and emergency crews responded and found the building engulfed in flames.

The church was destroyed, and an initial police investigation suggested the fire may have been suspicious. No one was reported injured.

Meadow Lake RCMP continued investigating with assistance from the Saskatchewan RCMP’s North Battleford Serious Crimes Unit and fire investigators with the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency.

On Nov. 2, officers arrested and charged Meadow Lake resident Gavin Burnouf with one count of arson, the RCMP said in a Nov. 5 statement. Burnouf appeared in Meadow Lake Provincial Court on Nov. 5.

“Investigation to date does not indicate the arson was motivated by any ideological reason,” the RCMP added.

A church representative told The Epoch Times that the parish was saddened by the fire, adding that replacing the icons, artwork and decorative ornamentation would be particularly challenging. The items represented “the cumulative support of decades of parishioners’ faithful patronage,” the representative said.

The spokesperson thanked firefighters and police for their efforts, as well as members of the local and broader Orthodox community for their support.

“We have a sure hope in Christ that extends beyond the four walls of any building and, although we mourn now, that hope is unshaken, as is Christ’s love for us all,” they added. “For now, we patiently await the results of the investigation and have begun the insurance claim process.”

Since May 2021, approximately 120 churches across Canada have been burned, vandalized or desecrated, according to The Democracy Fund (TDF). The organization estimates that at least 44 were completely destroyed.

TDF has launched an independent forensic investigation into attacks against churches and synagogues, citing concerns about the relatively small number of charges laid.

The increase in church fires coincided with a May 2021 announcement by the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation in British Columbia that ground-penetrating radar had identified 215 potential unmarked graves at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School. The site has not been excavated to confirm the presence of human remains.

Statistics Canada figures show police-reported hate crimes targeting religion increased from 469 incidents in 2015 to 1,115 in 2025, more than doubling over the decade.