| TORONTO: During the COVID pandemic and lockdown, the government used the opportunity to enact rights-infringing, overbroad laws. Legislators and bureaucrats zealously enforced these laws against Canadians in an effort to secure compliance and suppress peaceful protest. Fortunately, The Democracy Fund (TDF) and its team of lawyers and paralegals, with the support of generous donors, fought back.
Recently, TDF paralegal Jenna Little secured the withdrawal or stay of 109 tickets from across Ontario, involving multiple charges per ticket. Often, the charges were withdrawn or stayed due to a lack of reasonable prospect of conviction, delay, non-appearance of the government’s witness at trial, or a decision taken by the Crown not to proceed.
Clients were charged under the Quarantine Act s.15 (failure to provide information to screening officer), s.58 (failure to complete ArriveCan, failure to arrange for quarantine), or s.66 (obstruct an officer). The fine for each charge was typically $5,000, with potential total fines for conviction on all charges reaching $681,250.
Commenting on the recent victory, Jenna Little said: “It’s gratifying to see our hard work pay off, and a relief to our clients who have endured years of legal uncertainty. But the government is still doggedly pursuing many clients for charges that should not have been brought in the first place and consume scarce judicial resources.”
Though many of these cases have been successfully resolved, many remain. Other tickets involve charges under s.7.0.11 (obstruct an officer) of the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act, with penalties of up to 1 year in jail and a $100,000 fine. In rare cases, clients are also charged under s.10 of the Reopening Act (gather or fail to close premises). Fines under those statutes range from $125 to $19,000. Hundreds of clients are facing potential fines and jail time for peacefully protesting or objecting to government overreach during COVID lockdowns. With your support, TDF will provide these clients with legal representation and, hopefully, legal vindication. |