Lisa Li

Anita Anand on her way out, won't seek re-election.

Prosecutors have dropped charges against four Canadians who challenged the authority of the Quarantine Act by choosing to withhold their personal medical information.

Mark Spence, Aaron Grubb, Evan Kraayenbrink and Elim Sly-Hooten saw their charges dropped after being fined for refusing to disclose their vaccination status through the mandatory ArriveCAN app, and subsequently ordered to quarantine for 14 days.

Mr. Sly-Hooten, supported by the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF), brought forward a constitutional challenge after being detained by Peel Regional Police, coerced into revealing his personal health information (without benefit of council), and issued a $5000 fine.

The challenge centered on the protections afforded under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms; the right to liberty, to protection from unreasonable search and seizure, to be free from arbitrary arrest and detention, and the right to counsel.

While prosecutors cited lack of public interest as their reason for dismissing charges, we believe the more accurate reason to be the desire to protect the failed ArriveCAN app from constitutional scrutiny.

Similar challenges to the Emergencies Act were also dismissed because they knew it was unlikely to withstand constitutional scrutiny. Both measures were enacted in the same way – use aggressively as the legal authority to target Canadians, then dismiss charges before supporting evidence can be disclosed on discovery, but only after significantly impacting the financial resources of each individual (the true punishment for their noncompliance).

While a personal victory for each, we once again see the federal government “escape accountability for Covid policy decisions that breached Canadians’ Charter rights.”

The government isn’t trying to save your tax dollars by avoiding erroneous cases; they are avoiding them precisely BECAUSE they know just how important these outcomes are in supporting the rights and freedoms of all Canadians.

How much longer are we willing to tolerate being gas lit by our own government? How long before we find a justice who refuses to bend to their political agenda?

To read more visit the JCCF website (dot ca)