The Ontario Ministry of Transportation has refused to allow a billboard alleging politicians lied during the pandemic, prompting a constitutional challenge from the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms.George Katerberg is a retired HVAC technician and business owner. After the era of COVID-19 lockdowns, he decided to close his business, sell his home and move to Thessalon, Ontario, along the shores of Lake Huron.On March 1, Katerberg rented a billboard along Hwy. 17 near Thessalon. The billboard displayed the faces of various Government of Canada officials, including the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister, the leader of the federal NDP, the Ontario Premier, the Chief Public Health Officer of Canada, and the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci.The sign read, “They knowingly lied about safety and stopping tranmission [sic],” and “Canadians demand accountability.” The sign also featured an image of two hammers behind a Canadian flag. Mr. Katerberg said the design was inspired by a symbol from the 1979 Pink Floyd album, The Wall, which addressed government overreach.Shortly after the billboard was erected, Ontario's Ministry of Transportation ordered that the billboard be removed due to an allegation that the image represented white supremacist ideology. Unbeknownst to Katerberg, the hammer image from Pink Floyd’s The Wall was later appropriated and used by an American white supremacy music group in the late eighties and early nineties, over 30 years ago. The Ministry ordered that Katerberg contact them in advance for pre-approval of any future signs he might wish to display.Katerberg immediately removed the billboard sign. He then prepared a new sign with the same message, but he replaced the image of the two hammers behind a Canadian flag with an image of the Canadian flag alone. Katerberg submitted the sign to the Ministry for approval on June 18..On June 28, the Ministry of Transportation denied Mr. Katerberg’s proposed sign, advising him by email that “the message on the billboard may be seen as promoting hatred or contempt for the individuals pictured on the billboard, which may violate certain policies regarding advertising. Any other billboards that you wish to erect on the highway must be pre-approved by the [Ministry of Transportation].”Katerberg is asking the Divisional Court of the Superior Court of Justice in Ontario for a judicial review of the decision of the Ministry. The Notice of Application was filed on July 25, 2024.A judicial review is a process by which courts ensure that the decisions of administrative bodies are fair, reasonable, and lawful. In his Notice of Application, Katerberg alleges that the June 28 decision was unreasonable and that it did not balance the Charter right to freedom of expression with the purposes of relevant legislation, which it was required to do. The sign’s message to the public was about holding government officials accountable for their actions, which is essential to democracy.The Notice of Application states, "The Sign does not promote violence, hatred, or contempt... Further, the Sign does not target any ‘identifiable group’... To the extent that the six well-known public figures featured on the Sign form a group at all, it is on the basis of their collective response to the Covid-19 pandemic in their political and/or professional capacity."Lawyer Chris Fleury stated, "Mr. Katerberg’s proposed sign was a matter of legitimate expression protected by the Charter. In a functioning democracy, individuals like Mr. Katerberg need to be able to express their dissatisfaction with public officials. Doing so is not promoting hatred. Mr. Katerberg is looking forward to his day in Court and to eventually being able to erect his billboard.".This is what the Western Standard is up againstThe Trudeau government is funding lies and propaganda by directly subsidizing the mainstream media. They do this to entrench the powerful Eastern, woke and corrupt interests that dominate the political, social and economic institutions in Canada. Federal authorities are constantly trying to censor us and stop us from publishing the stories that they don’t want you to read. Ottawa may weaponize our taxes and police against us, but we’ve got a powerful ally on our side.You. Free men, and free women. We need you to stand with us and become a member of the Western Standard. Here’s what you will get for your membership:Unlimited access to all articles from the Western Standard, Alberta Report, West Coast Standard, and Saskatchewan Standard, with no paywall. Our daily newsletter delivered to your inbox. .Access to exclusive Member-only WS events.Keep the West’s leading independent media voice strong and free.If you can, please support us with a monthly or annual membership. It takes just a moment to set up, and you will be making a big impact on keeping one the last independent media outlets in Canada free from Ottawa’s corrupting influence.
The Ontario Ministry of Transportation has refused to allow a billboard alleging politicians lied during the pandemic, prompting a constitutional challenge from the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms.George Katerberg is a retired HVAC technician and business owner. After the era of COVID-19 lockdowns, he decided to close his business, sell his home and move to Thessalon, Ontario, along the shores of Lake Huron.On March 1, Katerberg rented a billboard along Hwy. 17 near Thessalon. The billboard displayed the faces of various Government of Canada officials, including the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister, the leader of the federal NDP, the Ontario Premier, the Chief Public Health Officer of Canada, and the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci.The sign read, “They knowingly lied about safety and stopping tranmission [sic],” and “Canadians demand accountability.” The sign also featured an image of two hammers behind a Canadian flag. Mr. Katerberg said the design was inspired by a symbol from the 1979 Pink Floyd album, The Wall, which addressed government overreach.Shortly after the billboard was erected, Ontario's Ministry of Transportation ordered that the billboard be removed due to an allegation that the image represented white supremacist ideology. Unbeknownst to Katerberg, the hammer image from Pink Floyd’s The Wall was later appropriated and used by an American white supremacy music group in the late eighties and early nineties, over 30 years ago. The Ministry ordered that Katerberg contact them in advance for pre-approval of any future signs he might wish to display.Katerberg immediately removed the billboard sign. He then prepared a new sign with the same message, but he replaced the image of the two hammers behind a Canadian flag with an image of the Canadian flag alone. Katerberg submitted the sign to the Ministry for approval on June 18..On June 28, the Ministry of Transportation denied Mr. Katerberg’s proposed sign, advising him by email that “the message on the billboard may be seen as promoting hatred or contempt for the individuals pictured on the billboard, which may violate certain policies regarding advertising. Any other billboards that you wish to erect on the highway must be pre-approved by the [Ministry of Transportation].”Katerberg is asking the Divisional Court of the Superior Court of Justice in Ontario for a judicial review of the decision of the Ministry. The Notice of Application was filed on July 25, 2024.A judicial review is a process by which courts ensure that the decisions of administrative bodies are fair, reasonable, and lawful. In his Notice of Application, Katerberg alleges that the June 28 decision was unreasonable and that it did not balance the Charter right to freedom of expression with the purposes of relevant legislation, which it was required to do. The sign’s message to the public was about holding government officials accountable for their actions, which is essential to democracy.The Notice of Application states, "The Sign does not promote violence, hatred, or contempt... Further, the Sign does not target any ‘identifiable group’... To the extent that the six well-known public figures featured on the Sign form a group at all, it is on the basis of their collective response to the Covid-19 pandemic in their political and/or professional capacity."Lawyer Chris Fleury stated, "Mr. Katerberg’s proposed sign was a matter of legitimate expression protected by the Charter. In a functioning democracy, individuals like Mr. Katerberg need to be able to express their dissatisfaction with public officials. Doing so is not promoting hatred. Mr. Katerberg is looking forward to his day in Court and to eventually being able to erect his billboard.".This is what the Western Standard is up againstThe Trudeau government is funding lies and propaganda by directly subsidizing the mainstream media. They do this to entrench the powerful Eastern, woke and corrupt interests that dominate the political, social and economic institutions in Canada. Federal authorities are constantly trying to censor us and stop us from publishing the stories that they don’t want you to read. Ottawa may weaponize our taxes and police against us, but we’ve got a powerful ally on our side.You. Free men, and free women. We need you to stand with us and become a member of the Western Standard. Here’s what you will get for your membership:Unlimited access to all articles from the Western Standard, Alberta Report, West Coast Standard, and Saskatchewan Standard, with no paywall. Our daily newsletter delivered to your inbox. .Access to exclusive Member-only WS events.Keep the West’s leading independent media voice strong and free.If you can, please support us with a monthly or annual membership. It takes just a moment to set up, and you will be making a big impact on keeping one the last independent media outlets in Canada free from Ottawa’s corrupting influence.
