The Crown attorney has stayed a COVID-19 charge against Canadian resident Kathryn Salmon because of an unreasonable delay with her trial. “It was never right to discriminate against Canadians on the basis of whether or not they took the COVID vaccines,” said Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) Litigation Director Marty Moore in a Wednesday press release. “It would not have been right to pursue this prosecution of Ms. Salmon, and we are glad the Crown has stayed the charge against her.” The JCCF said Salmon was charged under the Quarantine Act in 2022 and fined $6,255 for allegedly refusing to take a COVID-19 test upon returning to Canada. When she returned to Canada from the United States in 2022, it said she allegedly refused to take a COVID-19 test or use ArriveCan. While she had requested an exemption to these requirements and had presented border agents with a suitable quarantine plan, her request was denied. The Public Health Agency of Canada charged her under the Quarantine Act and fined her $6,255. Salmon requested a trial date, but the earliest one offered to her was on Friday — more than 19 months later. Canadians have the right to be tried within a reasonable time pursuant to Section 11(b) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In the provincial courts, a delay of 18 months before the end of trial is presumed to be unreasonable. Her counsel highlighted this defence to the Crown attorney, arguing her trial had an unreasonable delay. In response, the Crown agreed to stay the charge against Salmon and did so on Friday. Crown attorneys stayed proceedings against an Ontario woman who was ticketed and fined $6,255 for not going to a quarantine hotel upon arriving in Canada on October 2. READ MORE: COVID ticket dropped for Ontario woman who couldn't stay in quarantine hotel“The right to be tried for a charge within a reasonable time is a fundamental principle of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and a trial 25 months after the date of a charge would not have been reasonable,” said JCCF lawyer Charlene Le Beau. The JCCF said the Ontario woman was returning to Canada after a visit to New York in 2021. It added she suffers from chronic pain syndrome, which some times requires the assistance of a wheelchair and of family and friends for her personal care.
The Crown attorney has stayed a COVID-19 charge against Canadian resident Kathryn Salmon because of an unreasonable delay with her trial. “It was never right to discriminate against Canadians on the basis of whether or not they took the COVID vaccines,” said Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) Litigation Director Marty Moore in a Wednesday press release. “It would not have been right to pursue this prosecution of Ms. Salmon, and we are glad the Crown has stayed the charge against her.” The JCCF said Salmon was charged under the Quarantine Act in 2022 and fined $6,255 for allegedly refusing to take a COVID-19 test upon returning to Canada. When she returned to Canada from the United States in 2022, it said she allegedly refused to take a COVID-19 test or use ArriveCan. While she had requested an exemption to these requirements and had presented border agents with a suitable quarantine plan, her request was denied. The Public Health Agency of Canada charged her under the Quarantine Act and fined her $6,255. Salmon requested a trial date, but the earliest one offered to her was on Friday — more than 19 months later. Canadians have the right to be tried within a reasonable time pursuant to Section 11(b) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In the provincial courts, a delay of 18 months before the end of trial is presumed to be unreasonable. Her counsel highlighted this defence to the Crown attorney, arguing her trial had an unreasonable delay. In response, the Crown agreed to stay the charge against Salmon and did so on Friday. Crown attorneys stayed proceedings against an Ontario woman who was ticketed and fined $6,255 for not going to a quarantine hotel upon arriving in Canada on October 2. READ MORE: COVID ticket dropped for Ontario woman who couldn't stay in quarantine hotel“The right to be tried for a charge within a reasonable time is a fundamental principle of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and a trial 25 months after the date of a charge would not have been reasonable,” said JCCF lawyer Charlene Le Beau. The JCCF said the Ontario woman was returning to Canada after a visit to New York in 2021. It added she suffers from chronic pain syndrome, which some times requires the assistance of a wheelchair and of family and friends for her personal care.
