Peaceful Freedom Convoy protestor Scott Hockaday, arrested and detained without access to legal counsel, asserts his right to protest at trial

In February 2022, Scott Hockaday protested in Ottawa at the time of the Freedom Convoy in order to motivate government medical officials to debate the doctors who had criticized the government’s Covid response. 

On February 14, 2022, the federal cabinet invoked the Emergencies Act in order to shut down the protest in Ottawa. Government officials claimed at the time that the emergency was nationwide, but it was later proven during a public inquiry that only the protest in Ottawa remained when the Act was invoked. In a later court case, a judge would rule that the invocation of the Emergencies Act was in fact illegal. 

Scott Hockaday is arrested and denied legal representation 

On February 18, 2022, police arrested Mr. Hockaday during the crackdown in Ottawa on the Freedom Convoy.  The arresting officers did not witness Mr. Hockaday do anything other than approach other officers, speak to them, turn around, and put his hands behind his back. The arresting officers then approached the scene and completed the arrest. 

Mr. Hockaday was held in custody for three hours. During that time, RCMP passed him to the Ottawa Police Service. He was then taken in an Ontario Provincial Police transport vehicle to an Ottawa Police Service processing facility. Throughout his detention, he consistently voiced his desire to speak to a lawyer. 

However, during his detention, an officer questioned Mr. Hockaday about a trailer that he had been using and obtained details about that trailer, including the license plate number. The Crown sought to use these statements and photos of the trailer as evidence against Mr. Hockaday at trial. 

The police offered to release Scott Hockaday if he agreed not to call a lawyer 

Near the end of his detention, the Ottawa Police Service offered to release Mr. Hockaday without his having to sign an undertaking on the condition that he did not call a lawyer. (The undertaking required Mr. Hockaday to abide by certain release conditions whether or not he signed it.)  Because he did not have the benefit of legal counsel, Mr. Hockaday did not understand that he would be charged with mischief regardless of whether he signed that undertaking. 

Mr. Hockaday was convicted of mischief on March 14, 2024, by Justice Julie Bourgeois after a trial in the Ontario Court of Justice in Ottawa, Ontario. Justice Bourgois agreed that Mr. Hockaday’s right to counsel was infringed and excluded the evidence obtained by the officer’s questioning. Justice Bourgeois disagreed that Mr. Hockaday was unlawfully arrested and declined to exclude the evidence obtained following his arrest. 

The conviction was appealed, with the appeal hearing scheduled to start on December 18, 2024 in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, in Ottawa. This ended up being postponed until February 2025. 

After conviction, Scott Hockaday asserts his Charter rights on appeal 

In court on Wednesday, February 26, 2025, Mr. Hockaday’s lawyer argued that his Charter right to be free from arbitrary detention and from unreasonable search and seizure were infringed because the arresting officer did not have reasonable grounds to arrest him. 

Lawyer Hatim Kheir stated, “Mr. Hockaday was present in Ottawa in 2022 to protest. The arresting officer did not see Mr. Hockaday do anything other than turn around and present his arms to be handcuffed. He did not know why Mr. Hockaday did this or whether Mr. Hockaday was instructed to do so by other officers. We are arguing that this does not meet the constitutional requirements for a legal arrest. Mr. Hockaday is hopeful that the Superior Court will remedy the infringements of his Charter rights by excluding illegally obtained evidence and by acquitting him of mischief.” 

We are awaiting the Appeal decision.