A charge against a woman from Wallaceburg who was accused of organizing a protest in Chatham in 2020 against COVID-19 restrictions has been dismissed.
A decision on the case of Laura Myers, 34, was originally scheduled at Provincial Offences Court in Blenheim for April 25, 2023, but CK News Today was informed by her defence lawyer's office late Tuesday afternoon that the matter had been rescheduled to Tuesday and the charge was dismissed in the afternoon.
The office of Antoine d’Ailly told CK News Today the Justice of the Peace dismissed the charge against Myers because the drone footage captured by police was instrumental in assisting the court in arriving at "the correct disposition" of this matter, adding the judge even commented on the "waste of police and public funds involved in this matter."
"The number of protesters in attendance was previously described as over 100, which, if true, may have rendered the gathering contrary to the provisions of the Reopening Ontario Act. The source of this information [numbers in the gathering] as deduced at trial was by-law officer Travis Maxwell. The drone footage unequivocally proved that Mr. Maxwell’s assertion was false," said d’Ailly.
He also said that Myers was confident of the lawfulness of her actions at all times, and remained "steadfast" in her position and resolve throughout the prosecution and trial.
The Municipal Prosecutor in Chatham-Kent, Brenda Mercer, told CK News Today the Justice of the Peace found that it was not proven that Myers was the main organizer of the protest and that the event was monitored by police officers and by a police drone.
The matter was brought forward to Tuesday for the decision because the Justice of the Peace assigned to the case is retiring.
Myers was charged with failing to comply with the Reopening Ontario Act after a protest at Tecumseh Park on November 21, 2020 and a march through the downtown afterwards. The rally held by the Chatham-Kent Freedom Group was at the time deemed by law enforcement to have about 100 people in attendance.
Chatham-Kent police previously said a ticket was issued because the protest exceeded the 25 person outdoor limit imposed by the province at that time in the pandemic.
Several discussions between the defence and the prosecution to resolve the matter were unsuccessful.
Myers could have been fined between $10,000 and $100,000 and could have faced up to one year in jail, if she was convicted.
During her trial on October 17, 2022, the defence lawyer for Myers said his client reached out to Chatham-Kent police through its Facebook page before the rally to notify them of the protest. Police Sergeant Doug Cowell said the plans for the event and COVID-19 restrictions were later discussed by phone.
Cowell also noted that Myers told him that she was aware of the restrictions in place and later identified herself as the organizer of the event when they met in person at the protest. He also said he saw Myers speak through a megaphone to welcome the group on that day.
The defence also tried to poke holes in the evidence by asking if police or the municipality had proof the people gathered at the protest were not part of the same family or social bubble, something that was allowed at the time, and questioned the accuracy of the notes taken by the authorities.
Liz Vallee was the first Chatham-Kent protester to get penalized for holding an anti-lockdown rally. Vallee was fined $2,000 after pleading guilty in May of 2022 to violating the Reopening Ontario Act by organizing anti-lockdown protests in Chatham on April 17 and 18, 2021 during the pandemic.
The principal of the Dresden Private Mennonite School, Heinrich Unger, was also fined $2,000 by the Provincial Offences Court in Blenheim in August 2022 for violating the Reopening Ontario Act by holding a holiday event for parents and students in December of 2020 during a COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.
