As of December 3, 2020
1. Mandatory Vaccination Policies in Ontario
Reason for Litigation
In response to the increased coercion and impediments to parents accessing legal exemptions from mandatory vaccination of children for public school attendance, Vaccine Choice Canada and five other plaintiffs launched legal action against the Ontario government on October 24, 2019. The Statement of Claim can be viewed at: https://vaccinechoicecanada.com/wp-content/uploads/vcc-soc-ontario-redacted-october-24-2019.pdf
The Government of Ontario filed a Statement of Defence on December 31, 2019. The Statement of Defence can be viewed at: https://vaccinechoicecanada.com/wp-content/uploads/VCC-v-Ontario-Statement-of-Defense-12-31-19-Redacted.pdf
Current Status: Lawyers for the plaintiff and defendants have exchanged a listing of the documents and evidence that will be required during court proceedings. This is an active file.
Suspension of Superior Court Operations
Note: The Superior Court of Justice suspended all regular operations effective March 17, 2020. Some operations of the court were resumed on September 14, 2020.
2. Constitutionality of COVID Measures
Reason for Litigation
In response to the forced isolation, quarantine, physical distancing, closure of businesses, closure of parliament, closure of the courts, and other measures that violate Charter rights and freedoms, Vaccine Choice Canada and seven other plaintiffs launched legal action against the Government of Canada, Government of Ontario, Municipality of Toronto, various chief medical officers, Dr. Teresa Tam, Canada’s Chief Medical Officer, the Canadian Broadcast Corporation (CBC), amongst others. This application challenges the constitutional merit of imposed COVID measures. The application did not include masking mandates as these measures were not in place at the time of application. The statement of claim was filed on July 6, 2020. The statement of claim can be viewed at: https://vaccinechoicecanada.com/wp-content/uploads/vcc-statement-of-claim-2020-redacted.pdf
Current Status: The defendants have yet to file a statement of defence. This is an active file.
Suspension of Superior Court Operations
Note: The Superior Court of Justice suspended all regular operations effective March 17, 2020. Some operations of the court were resumed on September 14, 2020. Due to the suspension of operations, the period of time for the defendants to file a statement of defence was also suspended.
3. Actions to Address Masking Mandates – Ontario
Reason for Litigation
In response to the indiscriminate imposition of non-medical face coverings by municipal governments and businesses Rocco Galati Law was asked to prepare an application in the Superior Court of Ontario. The application was to challenge the constitutionality of masking measures and seek immediate relief.
Current Status:
On October 3, 2020, the Government of Ontario introduced legislation to impose non-medical masking upon all citizens of Ontario. This legislation replaced the various municipal mandates established indiscriminately across the province.
While the legislation mandated masking throughout the province, it also formally recognized legal exemptions to masking. The exemptions are broad and include physical, emotional, and psychological health, as well as creed or belief. Further, the legislation makes clear that evidence of an exemption is not required. The inclusion of these aspects in the legislation effectively means that masking is the Province of Ontario is voluntary.
This new legislation represents the relief sought by a pending application, short of eliminating all masking requirements. Therefore, seeking further relief on this issue would likely not result in any substantive legislated change as relief has already been granted in the existing legislation. It is reasonable to assume that the clear and definitive inclusion of masking exemptions in the October 3, 2020 legislation was in direct response to the threat of legal action by Vaccine Choice Canada against the Government of Ontario.
Next Steps
The inclusion of exemptions to masking in the legislation, however, is not being reflected in practise. Access to employment, education, access to goods and services, etc. continues to be arbitrarily and illegally restricted. This requires a shift in our focus and efforts. These include:
- Education: VCC and other organizations are investing resources to educate Ontario citizens and businesses on the legal aspects of the new legislation to ensure citizens and business owners are aware of the legitimacy of exemptions for those who need them.
- Individual Legal Action: In an effort to address the unconstitutional and human rights violations of institutions, businesses and services who fail to recognize valid legal exemptions, individual legal action may be necessary.
The Constitutional Rights Centre is actively developing legal templates supported by educational videos to assist citizens to launch legal action in small claims court against these businesses and institutions. These templates will be available for download on the website of the Constitutional Rights Centre shortly. Templates for other provinces will be made available as soon as they are developed. See: constitutionalrightscentre.ca
- Application Against Schools: An application is being prepared to address the violations of the Charter rights of children taking place in our schools. In addition to the Charter violations, evidence of the physical and psychological harm to children is being gathered. This application is being prepared and will be filed shortly.
- Citizen Action: Legal action alone cannot stop the mass confusion and panic generated by the distorted and manipulative messaging by our governments, health agencies and mainstream media. This panic and hysteria currently being experienced by the public can only be addressed by direct individual action.
This includes engaging your elected representatives, holding the media accountable, educating family and friends, protesting, and not complying with illegal and unconstitutional measures. This kind of change cannot be brought about by a single court case, but rather by each of us engaging in action to defend our rights and freedoms. We encourage you to support organizations engaged in this action and do what you can to help restore our rights and freedoms in Canada.
See our COVID-19 page for more information.
