A Freedom Convoy protester, was placed under strict mobility restrictions which effectively denied him the ability to vote in Ontario’s June 2 general election, a civil liberties group representing him says.
In a press release from the human rights advocacy charity the Democracy Fund, the man, who lives in Waterloo, Ontario, attended the Freedom Convoy protest earlier this year and was subsequently charged with mischief and breaching a court order.
The conditions imposed upon him by the police restrict where he is allowed to travel within the city of Windsor, and the limits barred him from accessing his designated polling station.
The Democracy Fund says its legal team is investigating the man, who they did not name.
“It would have been easier for this man to vote if he had been in jail,” says Adam Blake-Gallipeau, a criminal lawyer with the Democracy Fund.
“Exceptions for emergencies, essential services and voting should be a matter of course for any release that imposes geographical restrictions on the accused.”
Not even prisoners are denied the ability to vote in Canada, thus, making the police’s restriction on this man’s ability to vote especially harsh.
Section three of Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees that all Canadians have the right to vote in federal and provincial elections.
This comes after Freedom Convoy organizer Tamara Lich was detained for nearly three weeks and was also released under strict bail conditions.
Crown prosecutors attempted to send Lich back to jail after learning she would be accepting an award from the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) for her advocacy for freedom.
As part of her bail restrictions, Lich cannot return to a substantial portion of Ottawa, though she lives in Alberta. In the case of The Democracy Fund’s client, the man was restricted from accessing parts of his city of residence.
Waterloo Police has yet to respond to True North’s request for comment.
Created in 2021, The Democracy Fund supports Canadian civil liberties through education and the funding of related causes.
