Randy Hillier's charge for COVID-19 lockdown protest in Cornwall withdrawn
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Hillier had contested the constitutionality of the charges filed against him for his involvement in a protest in Cornwall on May 1, 2021, and was vindicated by the Ontario Court of Appeal on April 7. It ruled in his favour in determining the restrictions on gatherings such as the protest in Cornwall violated the Charter right to peaceful assembly; the court said the Ontario Superior Court judge who'd heard Hillier's challenge erred in going too broadly on consideration of whether the restrictions were an acceptable limitation.
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Given the appeal court's decision, the lingering matter of Hillier's provincial-offence charge filed in 2021 required a formal resolution.
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Assistant Crown attorney Claudette Breault told Ontario Court of Justice Justice of the Peace Linda Leblanc the Crown was withdrawing the charge. Breault referenced a provincial-offences court appearance scheduled for Brockville on Wednesday — Hillier faced the same charge under the Reopening Ontario Act for another protest in that region — and told the Cornwall court that charge was also being withdrawn.
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While Crown attorneys rarely provide the rationale for why a charge is withdrawn, in this matter the Ontario Court of Appeal's ruling on the unconstitutionality of the restrictions against public gatherings under the Reopening Ontario Act essentially rendered this prosecution moot.
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Chris Fleury represented Hillier Tuesday, he has appeared on Hillier's behalf in Cornwall court several times through his association with the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms to request adjournments as his colleagues were preparing and arguing the challenges before the Ontario Superior Court and Ontario Court of Appeal. Both parties appeared in court via video conference.
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The Tuesday withdrawal brings an end to the charges laid against seven people after the May 1, 2021, protest of pandemic restrictions that took place on the grounds of the Eastern Ontario Health Unit in Cornwall.
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As to his co-defendants who were also charged, their cases reached a conclusion between 2022 and 2024.
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Kristen Nagle's charge was withdrawn by Crown attorney Alan Findlay in March 2024.
Caitlyn Richer's charge was withdrawn in November 2023.
The charges filed against Jason Christoff, Sandra Maurais, Gary Jans, and Sarah Choujounian were withdrawn in December 2022.
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'They have either done community service work, or the fact of being charged and going through the court process was deemed sufficient,' Findlay said in a March 2023 email in response to inquiries on the status of some of the cases and withdrawals at that time. 'The significant age of their charge was a factor.'
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