Five Manitobans were convicted of violating COVID-19 public health orders and are to be sentenced Thursday..The five convicted are Patrick Allard, Todd McDougall, Sharon Vickner, Gerald Bohemier, and pastor Tobias Tissen..They admitted breaking the outdoor public gathering limits in 2020 and 2021..Based on a statement agreed to by the court and their lawyers, Provincial Court Judge Victoria Cornick convicted them..“All five of the individuals made a point of violating the orders in a very public way,” said Shaun Sass, a Crown attorney..“They encouraged others to attend and break the law.”.Tissen, who is a rural church pastor, spoke at rallies against the COVID-19 restrictions and held church services above the gathering limits..According to Sass, the four others continued to speak and organize rallies after being ticketed..“The repeated issuing of tickets did absolutely nothing to deter these offenders,” said Sass..The COVID-19 fines are between $18,000 and $42,000 for each individual, which is based on how many offences they were convicted of, as tickets are $1,296 each..McDougall has the least amount of tickets with eight and Allard has the most with 14..The defence lawyers argued the fines were too severe for the crimes committed and asked for the judge to impose a reprimand instead of the fines..“They weren’t breaking windows. They weren’t rioting in the streets,” said Alex Steigerwald, a defence lawyer who represents four of the five convicted..“My clients stood up and protested for something they believed in.”.The five said they were already punished with two losing their jobs and all spending time in jail after being arrested..“We were peacefully, publicly rejecting government overreach,” said Vickner..Two of the convicted, Allard and McDougall, will appeal to a higher court as they want to challenge the COVID-19 public health orders under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms..“We have to finalize the whole trial in order to go forward on an appeal,” wrote Allard in a social media post..Tissen’s church, along with other churches, lost a Charter challenge in 2021 against Manitoba’s COVID-19 restrictions on public gatherings and religious services..The court ruled the restrictions were allowed under the Charter because of a public health emergency.
