The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) was in the Court of Queen’s Bench in Saskatoon on Wednesday challenging the Saskatchewan government’s restrictions on the size of outdoor protests..JCCF lawyers Marty Moore and Andre Memauri represented two anti-lockdown protesters who attended a peaceful outdoor protest on December 19, 2020..If the JCCF wins this case for their two clients, other Saskatchewan residents charged with the same offence will have their charges dropped as this is a precedent-setting case..Outdoor protests of over 10 people were prohibited in Saskatchewan between December 17, 2020, to May 30, 2021..The anti-lockdown protest on December 19, 2020, was at the Vimy Memorial in Kiwanis Park in Saskatoon..During the same time period, Saskatchewan allowed indoor gatherings with three times the number of people..Moore told the Western Standard that during the same time period the Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests happened with thousands of participants but no one was ticketed..“The city of Regina was issuing protest tickets to people who participated in the outdoor protest with less than 20 people. Tickets at $2,800 each were issued to people who participated in those outdoor protests, if they were protesting the government lockdown,” said Moore..“When those exact same restrictions were in place, there were thousands … who participated in Black Lives Matter protests. And in fact, the chief of police in Regina spoke at those black lives matter protests that were against the law.”.The counsel for the government used the social media accounts of one protester as the reason the outdoor ticket ban should be enforced, according to Moore on what happened in the courtroom..“They are going on a bizarre attack on the two individuals who brought this claim forward to the court of Queen’s bench ... with dozens of screenshots of the social media pages of one of our applicants … trying to disparage her in front of the court,” said Moore..“In a bizarre attempt to justify their restrictions on the ability of over a million people to protest government intrusions into their lives, by pointing to the social media comments of an applicant before the court ... the rationality and the relevance of those things is lost on me. But the government found [it] suitable to use public resources to attack applicants asserting their Charter rights in the court.”.Moore said the “idea that what someone says on Twitter is somehow potentially justifying a province-wide restriction on everyone to gather peacefully outdoors and protest is quite unique.”.The JCCF provided their own infectious disease specialist, who showed that transmitting the COVID-19 virus in an outdoor space is rare..“The Saskatchewan government has no evidence, no evidence that even a single COVID case was associated with an outdoor protest in Saskatchewan, and yet it imposed some of its harshest restrictions on this essential and constitutionally guaranteed activity,” said Moore..The JCCF represents Jasmin Grandel and Darrell Mills..Grandel is a young mother who attended the protest “to share her concerns with the lack of transparency concerning the information on which Government requirements and restrictions were based, including the requirement that her son must wear a mask in kindergarten.”.Mills “is certified in Mask Fit Testing and trained in supplied air breathing systems, attended to voice his concerns about improper mask usage and the significant burdens placed on persons with physical or psychological conditions that prevent them from wearing masks.”.The judge will make a ruling in the next few months.
