The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal is considering arguments against the provincial government’s gathering limits during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Two residents have challenged 2022 ruling by Saskatchewan’s Court of King’s Bench of Saskatchewanthat upheld fines given for violating restrictions on outdoor gatherings.
Andre Memauri, a lawyer provided by the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF), represented Jasmin Grandel and Darrell Mills, giving his arguments to the court on Feb. 6.
He said there was “no compelling basis” for the province to impose restrictions on outdoor gatherings.
During the pandemic, Saskatchewan restricted outdoor gatherings to a maximum of 10 people between March 17, 2020, and July 11, 2021.
However, a question was raised about the fair application of the restrictions after an outdoor gathering of Black Lives Matter (BLM) protestors was not fined while protestors gathering against the government measures were fined.
At the time, Premier Scott Moe said, “My assumption is that the law enforcement officials have used their judgment with respect to this particular rally, on the broader societal challenges that we have, and I can do nothing but support the law enforcement officials with that judgment.”
Six months after the BLM event, several people were charged for attending a different outdoor protest against government lockdowns.
“The rule of law means that laws should be enforced equally,” Mr. Memauri said. “But the Saskatchewan Government encouraged and supported Black Lives Matter protests outdoors in large numbers while ticketing people who six months later protested the violations of their Charter freedoms.”
Ms. Grandel attended the protests out of concern for the impact the restrictions would have on small businesses, and the potential to cause unemployment and poverty to families.
With certification in Mask Fit Testing, and training air breathing systems, Mr. Mills was concerned about improper mask use and the negative health consequences.
In April 2021, lawyers with the JCCF filed a constitutional challenge to the restrictions on outdoor gatherings, on behalf of Ms. Grandel and Mr. Mills.
The application said the restrictions violated Charter rights, including freedoms of thought, belief, opinion and expression, association, and peaceful assembly.
The JCCF said the case also raised the issue that protests against government lockdown policies were targeted by law enforcement.
However, Justice D.B. Konkin of the Court of King’s Bench of Saskatchewan upheld government restrictions in a Sept. 20, 2022, decision by dismissing the case.
“In a state of public health emergency wreaking severe havoc on the health of Saskatchewan residents, Sask was burdened with the immense task of balancing multiple interests.”
While Justice Konklin found that the public health orders did violate the Charter right to freedom of expression, the province “met its burden” and proved to the court that the restrictions were “reasonable” and “demonstrably justifiable.”
JCCF president John Carpay said the court did not consider the harms caused by the restrictions.
“It appears that lockdown harms were not considered by the government or by the court, when applying this ‘precautionary’ principle,” he said. “Neither the Saskatchewan government nor the lower court wanted to take precautions against the physical, mental, social, financial and economic harms that lockdowns inflicted on people.”
