A Chatham woman who ran for Maxime Bernier’s People’s Party of Canada in last year’s federal election grudgingly pleaded guilty May 18 for organizing an anti-lockdown protest in violation of Ontario’s pandemic emergency law.
Liz Vallee, 44, called the outcome of her case “a sad day for our democracy.”
“In a free and democratic society, the right to peacefully assemble and exchange ideas is a cornerstone of our liberty,” she said in a telephone interview shortly after her plea in a Chatham-Kent courtroom.
Vallee received a $2,000 fine – a joint submission by the Crown and the defense – for violating the Reopening Ontario Act.
Prosecutor Brenda Mercer, reading an agreed statement of facts to the court, said Chatham-Kent police had been notified on April 18 of last year about an anti-lockdown protest that was planned for later that day in Chatham.
Officers went to the intersection of St. Clair Street and Grand Avenue – the protest site – that afternoon and spoke with Vallee.
“She was surrounded by several individuals (and), during this interaction, Ms. Vallee identified herself as the organizer of this event,” Mercer said. “She had been cautioned that she was in direct violation of the stay-at-home order, which was in place on this date and time.”
Mercer noted there were roughly 50 people at the protest who were carrying signs and shouting slogans at passing vehicles.
According to previous reports, 30 people had gathered the day before at the same spot to rally against just-announced COVID-related restrictions. Vallee had also been warned by police about the rules at that time.
The province’s gathering restrictions at the time, which included a temporary stay-at-home order, were introduced to help stop the spread of COVID-19 during the peak of the pandemic’s third wave.
Vallee had previously indicated she wanted to go to trial to argue the Reopening Ontario Act charge violated her rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
She said that strategy changed when her charter challenge was dismissed, leaving her with no real defence.
Faced with the choice of taking a $2,000 fine or going to trial in a higher court without that defence, Vallee opted for the former.
“I would have been found guilty and end up paying a higher fine,” she said. “I would have been OK with that if I thought it would help others but, unfortunately, if I’m found guilty that sets a previous for future cases that could possibly win.”