Quebec court upholds COVID curfew despite finding Charter rights were violated

Quebec's Superior Court has upheld the province's controversial COVID-19 curfew, ruling the public health measure was a justified limit on constitutional freedoms even though it violated Charter-protected rights.The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) announced Wednesday that the court dismissed an appeal brought by Stéphanie Pépin, who challenged the legality of the curfew after receiving a ticket while driving to a peaceful anti-curfew protest in January 2021.The decision, released more than 15 months after arguments were heard in April 2025, found the curfew infringed Pépin's rights to liberty, freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. However, the court concluded those infringements were justified during the COVID-19 pandemic.Pépin was stopped by police on Jan. 9, 2021, the first day Quebec's provincewide curfew took effect.Quebec was the only province in Canada to impose a provincewide overnight curfew during the pandemic. Residents were prohibited from leaving their homes between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m., with fines ranging from $1,000 to $6,000 for violations.The curfew remained in place until May 28, 2021, before being reintroduced from Dec. 31, 2021, to Jan. 17, 2022.According to the JCCF, approximately 46,000 pandemic-related tickets were issued in Quebec between September 2020 and October 2021, including about 22,500 for alleged curfew violations worth an estimated $30 million in fines.The constitutional challenge was heard over four days in September 2023..During the trial, JCCF lawyer Olivier Séguin cross-examined Quebec's former national director of public health, Dr. Horacio Arruda, along with Dr. Richard Massé, one of the architects of Quebec's Public Health Act.According to the JCCF, both acknowledged the curfew was intended not only to reduce the spread of COVID-19 but also to encourage compliance with other public health measures and send a broader message to the public.In January 2024, the trial judge ruled the curfew violated Charter rights but found the restrictions could be justified under Section 1 of the Charter. The Superior Court has now upheld that ruling on appeal.The court also acknowledged that peaceful political demonstrations held during curfew hours were prohibited because they did not qualify for any of the exemptions contained in the public health order."While we are disappointed by today's decision, the Court again recognized that Québec's Covid curfew infringed fundamental Charter freedoms," Séguin said."The central question was whether those infringements were justified during a public health emergency, and whether public health legislation authorized broad collective restrictions such as a curfew."Séguin said the ruling raises broader questions about the constitutional limits on governments exercising emergency powers."Governments exercising extraordinary emergency powers should remain subject to meaningful constitutional limits, and Canadians deserve clear guidance on where those limits lie," he said.The JCCF said its constitutional lawyers are reviewing the judgment to determine whether they will pursue a further appeal.

Quebec court upholds COVID curfew despite finding Charter rights were violated

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