Councillor penalized for silence on vaccination
Cynthia Guerard is a municipal councillor who lives and works in the Municipality of Mississippi Mills, Ontario.
On November 2, 2021, the municipality introduced a Covid vaccine mandate for employees, though it was unclear whether the mandate applied to municipal councillors.
After Ms. Guerard refused to disclose her vaccination status, a complaint was lodged against her for allegedly attending council meetings without disclosing her vaccination status (a violation of the town’s Code of Conduct) and for allegedly failing to show sufficient remorse. The matter was investigated by the municipality’s Integrity Commissioner.
The municipal council accepted the Integrity Commissioner’s findings and suspended Ms. Guerard’s pay for 90 days – the most severe punishment under the Municipal Act.
Escalation and exclusion from chambers
On May 17, 2022, council ordered her to leave the council’s chambers for allegedly breaching the Covid policy. She complied.
Then, on June 7, 2022, anticipating that she would be asked to leave the chambers, she observed the municipal council meeting from the public gallery. The gallery was open to the public without proof of vaccination. However, the council insisted that she again breached the Covid policy and the Code of Conduct, and ordered her to apologize. She apologized but continued to observe from the public gallery. After that, she attended all council meetings remotely because she believed she would be refused entry to the council chambers.
Legal action and Charter challenge
On September 26, 2022, lawyers provided by the Justice Centre filed a legal action against Mississippi Mills et al. on behalf of Guerard. This lawsuit seeks to reverse the decision to punish Ms. Guerard on the grounds that the process leading to the decision was unfair and that important factual errors were made in the investigative report prepared by the Integrity Commissioner.
Later, the Notice of Application was amended to focus on the violation to Ms. Guerard’s Charter section 2(b) right to freedom of expression. Specifically, lawyers will argue that forcing Canadians to disclose their vaccination status is a violation of their freedom not to speak.
Ms. Guerard said, “I firmly believe in every Canadian’s right to keep their private medical information confidential, a fundamental right that, in Ontario, is protected by statute. I look forward to making my case that the investigation and decision were biased and contrary to my fundamental Charter freedoms.”
Constitutional lawyer Hatim Kheir says, “Freedom of expression includes the right to say nothing. The right not to speak is an important counterpart to free speech.”
“We are arguing that the Integrity Commissioner and the Municipality violated Ms. Guerard’s right when they based their findings and punishments on her choice not to disclose her vaccination status,” he added.
Judicial review hearing scheduled
A judicial review hearing in Ms. Guerard’s case is scheduled for Wednesday, November 19, 2025, at the Divisional Court of Ontario, located at 161 Elgin Street, Ottawa, Ontario, K2P 2K1.
