Justice Centre launches legal action on behalf of Maxime Bernier against Feds’ vaccine mandates
Posted On: February 10, 2022
OTTAWA: The Justice Centre will file today a legal application in Federal Court, for judicial review of federal mandates which prevent Canadians who are not “fully vaccinated” from travelling by air. The Honourable Maxime Bernier, leader of the People’s Party of Canada, is being prevented from fully participating in his political role by Orders issued by Transport Canada, under instructions of the Prime Minister.
With implementation of these Orders, Mr. Bernier is restricted in participating in democratic discussions and the electoral process. As the leader of the fifth largest political party in Canada, in 2021, Mr. Bernier flew more than 79,000 km for work purposes. As a party leader, Mr. Bernier is required to reach thousands of people each year and to participate in various political, intellectual and charitable activities in all regions of the country. Travel other than by air is only reasonably feasible within a relatively limited radius of his residence in Quebec.
On October 30, 2021, the federal government announced that anyone travelling by air, train, or ship, must have received two of the Covid shots. The travel vaccination mandate has prevented approximately six million unvaccinated Canadians (15% of Canada’s population) from travel within Canada, and prevents them from flying out of Canada. Canadians cannot travel to help sick loved ones, to get to work, to attend university, to visit family and friends, to take international vacations, and to live ordinary lives like other citizens.
The Interim Order Respecting Certain Requirements for Civil Aviation due to Covid-19, No. 53 was first implemented January 28, 2022. With few exceptions, the Order prohibits persons who are not “fully vaccinated” from travelling by air. In the opinion of the Justice Centre, this results in discrimination and a clear violation of the constitutionally protected rights of Canadians.
Besides the Charter providing mobility rights that allow Canadians to freely enter and leave the country, and travel unhindered between provinces, the Charter also guarantees citizens equal access to political institutions, public debate and the electoral process.
“The Covid-19 zealots are attempting to gag dissenting voices like mine by any means possible. One such tactic is to prevent people from meeting and organizing politically. The courts must put an end to this segregation,” says Mr. Bernier.
“The mainstream media give me almost no air time. I have to go and meet people all across Canada to keep my party growing and get the word out. If I have to travel the equivalent of fourteen times the distance from Victoria to St.John’s in a year, I’m certainly not going to do it by car or bike,” he adds.
Mtre Samuel Bachand, primary counsel for the Justice Centre in Québec, notes, “Democracy is not the property of the vaccinated, nor is it some kind of reward for well-behaved children. All Canadians, of all political affiliations, must be free to travel. Canada is the only country in the developed world that has banned vaccine-free travellers from air travel, and yet we are supposed to be one of the most democratic countries in the world,” concludes Mtre Bachand.
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Covid restrictions are gone or will soon disappear in all provinces. They’re also gone in most countries.
But one government still keeps all its covid measures in place: The Trudeau government.
The totally unfair and unjustified vaccine mandates for federal employees and federally regulated industries are still in place.
And although the Liberals announced this week that they’re dropping the useless pre-arrival test for vaccinated travellers entering the country, the most important travel restriction will remain:
Unvaccinated Canadians still cannot board a plane, a boat or a train to travel in Canada or to other countries.
There is no indication the government is planning to drop this restriction any time soon.
Trudeau said we are racist and misogynistic. He despises us. He simply wants to persecute us, even if it has no effect on covid prevention whatsoever.
As the leader of a national party, I am not allowed to fly to meet Canadians in other provinces.
This is essential to do my job properly. In 2021, I flew 79,000 km to attend rallies all over the country.
This week, I filed my affidavit that explains why this restriction is particularly discriminatory in my case. You can read about it in this report in the Western Standard.
The virus is mostly gone, but the fight for our freedoms continues!
Many thanks,
-Max