TORONTO: Following a preliminary court appearance, the Crown has agreed to drop all charge against Robert Bristol of Kingston, who had received a ticket for protesting alone and masked in front of Kingston city hall. The Canadian Constitution Foundation (CCF) was assisting Mr. Bristol in fighting these charges.
“Ticketing a man for standing outside alone outside in a mask is completely outrageous. Mr. Bristol has a constitutionally protected right to express his political views, and we are pleased that the crown has agreed to drop these charges. We urge the Crown to drop other similar tickets that have been issued to Ontarians across the province who have been ticketed for exercising their right to protest,” said CCF Litigation Director Christine Van Geyn.
On April 21, Mr. Bristol attended outside Kingston City Hall with an “End Lockdowns” sign to protest the province-wide lockdown. Mr. Bristol was alone, and wearing a mask. He was nevertheless approached by two Kingston municipal police officers and issued a ticket for failing to comply with the stay at home order. Mr. Bristol filmed the entire interaction.
“We are pleased with this result for Mr. Bristol. The ticket was in his case was indefensible. But we remain concerned with the government’s continued prohibition on public protests, which we view as unconstitutional. We are looking forward to the outcome of various other court challenges to those gathering restrictions,” concluded Van Geyn.
Mr. Bristol and the CCF were working with Toronto lawyer Asher Honickman in this case.
Along with the legal challenge, the CCF has launched a petition demanding Doug Ford repeal the stay at home order and permit outdoor protests. You can sign the petition HERE.
The original version of this release can be found here.
