COVID-19
Canadian citizens’ inquiry commissioner says COVID response revealed ‘holes’ in Charter
From LifeSiteNews
‘ a failure as a document. The first time Canadians needed it and needed to lean upon it, it completely collapsed.’
The commissioner of Canada’s National Citizens Inquiry (NCI) revealed that the Charter of Rights and Freedoms allowed the Trudeau government to “override all of our rights at a whim.”
In an interview posted December 26, NCI Commissioner Ken Drysdale told the Post Millennial that the COVID ‘pandemic’ revealed that Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms fails to protect Canadians’ rights, allowing all levels of government to override basic rights under the pretense of an ’emergency’.
“You talk about Canadians’ naïveté. You know, we as Canadians, for the last 41 or 42 years, walked around with an umbrella closed waiting for a rainy day,” Drysdale said.
In this episode of Stand on Guard, host David Krayden interviews Ken Drysdale, the commissioner of the National Citizens Inquiry that examined the reaction of government to the COVID-19.
FULL interview link in comments.👇The inquiry interviewed thousands of people, amassed… pic.twitter.com/uTX4Cq5U3Z
— David Krayden (@DavidKrayden) December 26, 2023
“And what I’m talking about is the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The trouble was that after 40 some years we went to use that umbrella. We opened it up, and it was full of holes,” he revealed.
“Because essentially what we did was we put a lock on the door,” he continued. “But then we put the key under the mat and told the thief that the key was under the mat and thought the lock was going to protect us … We wrote a Constitution which gave an out to the government: they could essentially declare an emergency and override all of our rights at a whim – and that’s what they did.”
The citizen-led and funded NCI was created in 2022 to investigate the “unprecedented” COVID mandates imposed on Canadians by all levels of government.
According to Drysdale, the Charter failed Canadians when they most needed it, allowing the government to force people to take the experimental COVID vaccine and wear masks, and to close businesses and churches.
He argued that the Charter “was a failure as a document. The first time Canadians needed it and needed to lean upon it, it completely collapsed.”
“You have these absolute governments who are shutting down our industry, who are taking away Canadians’ rights and freedoms,” he continued.
Drysdale suggested that Canadians have become accustomed to a government which infringes on their rights and freedoms.
“It wasn’t that much of a leap for Canadians to start wearing these masks,” he added. “… You can be driving down the road minding your own business and police have the right to pull you over for a check-stop and examine you with no probable cause.”
RELATED: Canadian citizen-led inquiry’s final report calls for all COVID court cases to be reviewed at once
Drysdale’s comments echo the NCI’s final report which was released in November 2023. The report called for a full review of all COVID-related court cases to restore the public’s faith in Canada’s judiciary system.
The final report is 5,324 pages long and includes dozens of recommendations for lawmakers, public institutions, and the general public to implement.
It was compiled by four independent commissioners. The NCI was tasked with looking into the negative side effects many Canadians experienced after getting the experimental COVID shots. They listened to testimony from doctors affected by the jabs.
LifeSiteNews covered previous testimony from the NCI. In Ottawa on May 18, former CBC Manitoba reporter Marianne Klowak revealed that reporters were prevented from covering stories critical of COVID vaccines and lockdowns and were instead encouraged to push government “propaganda.”
Earlier this year, retired Canadian Lt. Col. David Redman testified before the NCI that legacy media outlets such as the CBC are “ministries of propaganda.”
The four commissioners on the NCI included Drysdale, Janice Kaikkonen, elected school board trustee Heather DiGregorio, a senior partner in a law firm, and Bernard Massie, an independent consultant in biotechnology.
Throughout most of the COVID crisis, Canadians from coast to coast were faced with COVID mandates, including jab diktats, put in place by both the provincial and federal governments. After much pushback, particularly from the Canadian truckers’ Freedom Convoy, most provincial mandates were eliminated by the summer of 2022. In late 2022, the Canadian federal government under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau finally “suspended” a COVID jab travel mandate for flying.
From LifeSiteNews
A judge ruled that the Ontario Court of Justice is already ‘satisfied’ with Chris Barber’s sentence and taking away his very livelihood would be ‘disproportionate.’
A Canadian judge has dismissed a demand from Canadian government lawyers to seize Freedom Convoy leader Chris Barber’s “Big Red” semi-truck.
On Friday, Ontario Court of Justice Judge Heather Perkins-McVey denied the Crown’s application seeking to forfeit Barber’s truck.
She ruled that the court is already “satisfied” with Barber’s sentence and taking away his very livelihood would be “disproportionate.”
“This truck is my livelihood,” said Barber in a press release sent to LifeSiteNews.
“Trying to permanently seize it for peacefully protesting was wrong, and I’m relieved the court refused to allow that to happen,” he added.
Criminal defense lawyer Marwa Racha Younes was welcoming of the ruling as well, stating, “We find it was the right decision in the circumstances and are happy with the outcome.”
John Carpay, president of the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF), said the decision is “good news for all Canadians who cherish their Charter freedom to assemble peacefully.”
READ: Freedom Convoy protester appeals after judge dismissed challenge to frozen bank accounts
“Asset forfeiture is an extraordinary power, and it must not be used to punish Canadians for participating in peaceful protest,” he added in the press release.
As reported recently by LifeSiteNews, the Canadian government claimed that Barber’s truck is an “offence-related property” relating to his involvement in the 2022 protests against Canada’s COVID mandates.
At this time, the court ruling ends any forfeiture proceedings for the time being, however Barber will continue to try and appeal his criminal conviction and house arrest sentence.
Barber’s truck, a 2004 Kenworth long-haul he uses for business, was a focal point in the 2022 protests. He drove it to Ottawa, where it was parked for an extended period of time, but he complied when officials asked him to move it.
On October 7, 2025, after a long trial, Ontario Court Justice Perkins-McVey sentenced Barber and Tamara Lich, the other Freedom Convoy leader, to 18 months’ house arrest. They had been declared guilty of mischief for their roles as leaders of the 2022 protest against COVID mandates, and as social media influencers.
Lich and Barber have filed appeals of their own against their house arrest sentences, arguing that the trial judge did not correctly apply the law on their mischief charges.
Government lawyers for the Crown have filed an appeal of the acquittals of Lich and Barber on intimidation charges.
The pair’s convictions came after a nearly two-year trial despite the nonviolent nature of the popular movement.
From LifeSiteNews
Protestor Evan Blackman’s legal team argues Trudeau’s Emergencies Act-based bank account freezes were punitive state action tied directly to protest participation.
A Freedom Convoy protester whose bank accounts were frozen by the Canadian government says a judge erred after his ruling did not consider the fact that the funds were frozen under the Emergencies Act, as grounds for a stay of proceedings.
In a press release sent out earlier this week, the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) said that Freedom Convoy protestor Evan Blackman will challenge a court ruling in his criminal case via an appeal with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.
“This case raises serious questions about how peaceful protest is treated in Canada and about the lasting consequences of the federal government’s unlawful use of the Emergencies Act,” noted constitutional lawyer Chris Fleury. “The freezing of protestors’ bank accounts was part of a coordinated effort to suppress dissent, and courts ought to be willing to scrutinize that conduct.”
Blackman was arrested on February 18, 2022, during the police crackdown on Freedom Convoy protests against COVID restrictions, which was authorized by the Emergencies Act (EA). The EA was put in place by former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government, which claimed the protests were violent, despite no evidence that this was the case.
Blackman’s three bank accounts with TD Bank were frozen due to his participation in the Freedom Convoy, following a directive ordered by Trudeau.
As reported by LifeSiteNews, in November of this year, Blackman was convicted at his retrial even though he had been acquitted at his original trial. In 2023, Blackman’s “mischief” and “obstructing police” charges were dismissed by a judge due to lack of evidence and the “poor memory of a cop regarding key details of the alleged criminal offences.”
His retrial resulted in Blackman getting a conditional discharge along with 12 months’ probation and 122 hours of community service, along with a $200 victim fine surcharge.
After this, Blackman’s application for a stay of proceedings was dismissed by the court. He had hoped to have his stay of proceedings, under section 24(1) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, allowed. However, the judge ruled that the freezing of his bank accounts was legally not related to his arrest, and because of this, the stay of proceedings lacked standing.
The JCCF disagreed with this ruling, noting, it “stands in contrast to a Federal Court decision finding that the government’s invocation of the Emergencies Act was unreasonable and violated Canadians’ Charter rights, including those targeted by the financial measures used against Freedom Convoy protestors.”
As of press time, a hearing date has not been scheduled.
In 2024, Federal Court Justice Richard Mosley ruled that Trudeau was “not justified” in invoking the Emergencies Act.
In early 2022, the Freedom Convoy saw thousands of Canadians from coast to coast come to Ottawa to demand an end to COVID mandates in all forms. Despite the peaceful nature of the protest, Trudeau’s federal government enacted the EA in mid-February.
After the protesters were cleared out, which was achieved through the freezing of bank accounts of those involved without a court order as well as the physical removal and arrest of demonstrators, Trudeau revoked the EA on February 23, 2022.
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