[Translated from French. See original post here.]
The CJLC – Legal Center for Constitutional Liberties supports the legal defence of Mrs. Stéphanie Pépin, criminally accused of having violated the curfew in January 2021 while driving to demonstrate against the Covid measures.
Ms. Pépin’s attorney today transmitted to his opponents the expert report of Mr. Patrick Provost, Ph.D., professor of microbiology-infectiology and immunology at the Faculty of Medicine of Laval University. The findings of the report are damning:
“[N]o scientific advice on the curfew as a means of containing the Covid-19 pandemic has been produced or made public by the government organizations concerned, [i.e.] INESSS , INSPQ or MSSS.
Moreover, no reliable scientific study demonstrating the effectiveness of the curfew did not exist or was available at the time the government made the decision to impose this measure. […]
The imposition of the curfew twice by the Government of Quebec is the result of a political decision […] which is not based on any solid scientific basis.”
Government lawyers want to prevent the defence from filing this report on the court record. In an email addressed to the managing judge, the Attorney General of Quebec said that he lacked time to finalize “the expertise of the PGQ within a reasonable time before the hearing from September 18 to 21”. This seems to confirm the defence thesis: 27 months after the facts, government experts still do not have scientific justification for the Covid curfew.
The case returns to court for case management tomorrow, April 24, 2023, in Amos.
Image by Lëa-Kim Châteauneuf, sourced from Wikimedia Commons.
Updated September 19, 2023:
AMOS, QC: The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms draws attention to the four-day trial for Stéphanie Pépin, who was charged with violating the Public Health Act after protesting Covid curfew mandates.
A province-wide curfew was mandated by the Government of Québec, taking effect on January 8, 2021. The curfew prohibited the residents of Québec from leaving their homes between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. The Public Health Act granted police officers power to fine persons caught violating the curfew with fines ranging from $1,000 to $6,000.
Stéphanie Pépin and others gathered to demonstrate their opposition to the curfew at 9:00 p.m. on January 9, 2021. She was arrested and charged with violating the Public Health Act.
Ms. Pépin has launched a constitutional challenge to defend herself against these charges, arguing that the relevant sections of the Public Health Act are unjustified violations of her constitutional freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly.
Luke Neilson, Director of Communications for the Justice Centre, stated, “The Covid mandates enforced by the Government of Québec had damaging effects on liberty, expression, and assembly. Every Canadian should feel free to participate in peaceful political demonstrations. In this trial, we are defending the right of citizens to challenge their governments and to participate effectively in their own democracy.”
