COVID-19
Trudeau gov’t budgeted $198 million to enforce COVID mandates on federal employees
From LifeSiteNews
The Liberal government under the leadership of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau budgeted $198.6 million on their federal workplace vaccine mandate even though 95 percent of staff were already vaccinated.
The Trudeau government budgeted more than $199 million to enforce COVID vaccine mandates on federal employees.
According to information published February 1 by Blacklock’s Reporter, the Liberal government under the leadership of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau budgeted $198.6 million on their COVID-era federal workplace vaccine mandate even though 95 percent of staff were already vaccinated.
“Total authorities available for the Policy on COVID-19 Vaccination for the core public administration including the RCMP were $85.7 million and $112.9 million in 2021 and 2022 respectively,” Treasury Board President Anita Anand wrote in an Inquiry of Ministry.
According to the Inquiry, the number also included $19.2 million for “procuring, warehousing and distributing COVID-19 rapid tests across the core public administration.”
“This allocation also included funding for legal services,” it added without further providing details.
Beginning November 2021, the Trudeau government mandated that a total of 275,983 employees from the RCMP, military and main federal departments provide proof of vaccination.
Those who failed to do so risked dismissal or suspension without pay. While there were provisions for medical and religious exemptions, these were rarely granted. According to internal information, at the time of the mandates 95 percent of employees had already received the COVID vaccine.
When the federal mandate was lifted in June 2022, 2,560 employees had been suspended without pay for refusing to show proof of vaccination.
Conservative Members of Parliament (MPs) questioned why the cost of the mandate was so high and pressed for details as to what the funds were used for.
“Treasury Board officials told us it was for rapid testing purchases and distribution,” Conservative MP Kelly McCauley (Edmonton West) told the House of Commons in 2021.
“The Treasury Board website shows there are about 3,400 unvaccinated employees,” he added. “That works out to about $24,000 per employee for rapid testing.”
“At $24,000 per employee, who is providing these rapid tests? Is it SNC-Lavalin?” McCauley questioned, referring to a bribery scandal involving the large Canadian engineering firm SNC-Lavalin and the Trudeau government.
Unsurprisingly, the Trudeau government refused to reply. Indeed, the Trudeau government has continually failed to explain why the mandate costs Canadians nearly $198.6 million.
However, this is hardly the first time Trudeau has spent millions of taxpayer dollars on the COVID “pandemic” with very little to show for it and little to no explanation to Canadians.
In January, Liberals and New Democratic Party (NDP) members voted down a motion to publicly disclose a $150 million contract to a failed Québec vaccine supplier. Since 2022, the Trudeau government gave a total of 323 million taxpayer dollars to Medicago which failed to produce a single vaccine.
Notably, the factory is based in the Québec City riding of then-Liberal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos.
In December 2023, Canada’s Public Works department admitted that it took a massive gamble with taxpayer money that resulted in a loss of $150 million of taxpayer funds when its plan to build a COVID jab factory failed to materialize.
Similarly, in November, LifeSiteNews reported on how the House of Commons health committee has been demanding answers into how more than $300 million of taxpayer money was lost on failed COVID jab ventures with pharmaceutical companies.
In July, a newly released memo revealed the Trudeau government budgeted millions for vaccine passports for Canadians until 2026, despite the World Health Organization (WHO) having declared the so-called pandemic to be ended.
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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