COVID-19
Freedom Convoy trucker Harold Jonker acquitted of all charges
From LifeSiteNews
The JCCF noted his truck was parked along Coventry Road, which is away from the downtown area of Ottawa, and that he faced no charges or fines while he was in the city for the protest.
One of the more prominent truckers involved in the 2022 Freedom Convoy protest movement has been acquitted of all charges.
On May 20, Justice Kevin B. Phillips of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice acquitted Harold Jonker of all charges. Jonker runs Jonker Trucking Inc. out of Caistor Centre in Ontario’s Niagara region, and rose to prominence for his role in the Freedom Convoy protest movement that sought to bring an end to all COVID-era mandates in Canada.
The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF), which helped Jonker in his case, noted in a press release that Justice Phillips concluded that “while the broader Freedom Convoy could be seen as a collective act of mischief, the Crown had failed to prove that Mr. Jonker was guilty of any of the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.”
“Harold and I are elated with the outcome of his case. We agree with the trial judge that the Crown had not proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt,” said Constitutional lawyer Chris Fleury.
Jonkers stated that he is “very thankful for the excellent legal support provided by the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, and thankful that the judge saw through the Crown’s weak case and had the courage to do the right thing.”
In February 2022, Jonker drove to Ottawa in his semi-truck alongside 12 other trucks from Jonker Trucking. A documentary called Freedom Occupation, which was distributed by independent outlet True North, featured him prominently.
In May of 2023, about 15 months after he participated in the Freedom Convoy, Jonker was told to turn himself over to the Ottawa Police Service to be processed for fingerprinting and to appear before a court on charges related to his association with the Freedom Convoy. He was charged with mischief, counselling mischief, intimidation, and counselling intimidation.
The JCCF noted his truck was parked along Coventry Road, which is away from the downtown area of Ottawa, and that he faced no charges or fines while he was in the city for the protest.
During the trial, held from May 12 to 14, saw the Crown argue before the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Ottawa allege that Jonkers aided in organizing the Freedom Convoy.
Justice Phillips, as noted by the JCCF, addressed “two main themes advanced by the Crown,” the first being that the Crown had claimed that the media interviews Jonkers gave both during and after the protest amounted to counselling mischief.
“However, Justice Phillips found that Mr. Jonker was treated by interviewers like a ‘foreign correspondent’—someone describing events as he witnessed them. While supportive of the protest, Mr. Jonker’s words were expressions of opinion, not incitement to unlawful action,” noted the JCCF.
The second theme claimed by the Crown was that Jonkers was responsible for Jonker Trucking vehicles located in Ottawa’s downtown core.
“The Court found insufficient evidence to show that Mr. Jonker had control over those trucks,” noted the JCCF.
“Justice Phillips noted that, in Crown-submitted videos, Mr. Jonker explicitly stated that his own truck was parked in a yard, not downtown. Furthermore, the Crown offered no evidence regarding the corporate structure of Jonker Trucking Inc. that could prove Mr. Jonker had authority over vehicles belonging to the company.”
Trucker put his trust in ‘God’ after he was charged
In 2023, LifeSiteNews had reported on Jonkers, who noted at the time that the “truth will prevail,” and that he was “confident” in the face of his four criminal charges because he places his trust in “God.”
Jonker, who conducts about 90% of his trucking business in the United States, said the reason he participated in the Freedom Convoy was that he did not like the way COVID restrictions were impacting most Canadians.
The Freedom Convoy protest resulted in former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau enacting the Emergencies Act (EA) on February 14, 2022, to shut it down.
Trudeau had disparaged unvaccinated Canadians, saying those opposing his measures were of a “small, fringe minority” who hold “unacceptable views” and do not “represent the views of Canadians who have been there for each other.”
Trudeau revoked the EA on February 23 after the protesters had been cleared out.
Hundreds of protesters were arrested for participating in the Freedom Convoy while the EA was in place. Many had their charges dropped. However, some still have outstanding charges.
The use of the EA resulted in nearly $8 million in locked funds from 267 bank accounts. Additionally, 170 bitcoin wallets were frozen.
COVID-19
Court compels RCMP and TD Bank to hand over records related to freezing of peaceful protestor’s bank accounts
The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms announces that a judge of the Ontario Court of Justice has ordered the RCMP and TD Bank to produce records relating to the freezing of Mr. Evan Blackman’s bank accounts during the 2022 Freedom Convoy protest.
Mr. Blackman was arrested in downtown Ottawa on February 18, 2022, during the federal government’s unprecedented use of the Emergencies Act. He was charged with mischief and obstruction, but he was acquitted of these charges at trial in October 2023.
However, the Crown appealed Mr. Blackman’s acquittal in 2024, and a new trial is scheduled to begin on August 14, 2025.
Mr. Blackman is seeking the records concerning the freezing of his bank accounts to support an application under the Charter at his upcoming retrial.
His lawyers plan to argue that the freezing of his bank accounts was a serious violation of his rights, and are asking the court to stay the case accordingly.
“The freezing of Mr. Blackman’s bank accounts was an extreme overreach on the part of the police and the federal government,” says constitutional lawyer Chris Fleury.
“These records will hopefully reveal exactly how and why Mr. Blackman’s accounts were frozen,” he says.
Mr. Blackman agreed, saying, “I’m delighted that we will finally get records that may reveal why my bank accounts were frozen.”
This ruling marks a significant step in what is believed to be the first criminal case in Canada involving a proposed Charter application based on the freezing of personal bank accounts under the Emergencies Act.
Chris Carbert (right) and Anthony Olienick, two of the Coutts Four were jailed for over two years for mischief and unlawful possession of a firearm for a dangerous purpose.
From LifeSiteNews
The “Coutts Four” were painted as dangerous terrorists and their arrest was used as justification for the invocation of the Emergencies Act by the Trudeau government, which allowed it to use draconian measures to end both the Coutts blockade and the much larger Freedom Convoy
COVID protestor Chris Carbert has been granted bail pending his appeal after spending over two years in prison.
On June 30, Alberta Court of Appeal Justice Jo-Anne Strekaf ordered the release of Chris Carbert pending his appeal of charges of mischief and weapons offenses stemming from the Coutts border blockade, which protested COVID mandates in 2022.
“[Carbert] has demonstrated that there is no substantial likelihood that he will commit a criminal offence or interfere with the administration of justice if released from detention pending the hearing of his appeals,” Strekaf ruled.
“If the applicant and the Crown are able to agree upon a release plan and draft order to propose to the court, that is to be submitted by July 14,” she continued.
Carbert’s appeal is expected to be heard in September. So far, Carbert has spent over two years in prison, when he was charged with conspiracy to commit murder during the protest in Coutts, which ran parallel to but was not officially affiliated with the Freedom Convoy taking place in Ottawa.
Later, he was acquitted of the conspiracy to commit murder charge but still found guilty of the lesser charges of unlawful possession of a firearm for a dangerous purpose and mischief over $5,000.
In September 2024, Chris Carbert was sentenced to six and a half years for his role in the protest. However, he is not expected to serve his full sentence, as he was issued four years of credit for time already served. Carbert is also prohibited from owning firearms for life and required to provide a DNA sample.
Carbert was arrested alongside Anthony Olienick, Christopher Lysak and Jerry Morin, with the latter two pleading guilty to lesser charges to avoid trial. At the time, the “Coutts Four” were painted as dangerous terrorists and their arrest was used as justification for the invocation of the Emergencies Act by the Trudeau government, which allowed it to use draconian measures to end both the Coutts blockade and the much larger Freedom Convoy occurring thousands of kilometers away in Ottawa.
Under the Emergency Act (EA), the Liberal government froze the bank accounts of Canadians who donated to the Freedom Convoy. Trudeau revoked the EA on February 23 after the protesters had been cleared out. At the time, seven of Canada’s 10 provinces opposed Trudeau’s use of the EA.
Since then, Federal Court Justice Richard Mosley ruled that Trudeau was “not justified” in invoking the Emergencies Act, a decision that the federal government is appealing.
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