Court Dismisses COVID-19 Lockdown Constitutional Challenge

The Ontario Supreme Court has dismissed former MPP Randy Hillier’s lawsuit against the Ontario government over the province’s COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. In dismissing the legal challenge on Nov. 27, Justice John Callaghan said the provincial restrictions were justified and in line with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. “In the extraordinary circumstances existing in the spring of 2021, the gathering restrictions were both necessary and a proportionate response to the most significant health crisis of our time,” Justice Callaghan wrote. He added that while restricting peaceful assemblies is “unfortunate,” the government’s measures were acceptable “given the realities of the pandemic.”...