At the beginning of 2022, Jeffrey Evely, a retired veteran of the Canadian military, joined the historic Freedom Convoy in Ottawa to peacefully protest lockdowns and vaccine mandates. During the protest, it was alleged that the War Memorial had been desecrated. In response, Mr. Evely organized a group of veterans to stand guard at the memorial and took the least popular, pre-dawn shift himself.
On February 18, 2022, police began an “enforcement action” against protestors, aimed at removing the protestors and vehicles from the downtown core. After clearing the streets of protestors and vehicles, police closed major roads in downtown Ottawa, erecting roadblocks and check points. Members of the public were not permitted to pass without showing identification. Those who did not live or work in the area were not permitted to pass through.
At 4:25 a.m. on the morning of February 19, 2024, Mr. Evely made his way to the Ottawa War Memorial for his sentry duty. The area through which he passed was blocked off by police and not accessible to the public. Police allege that, upon being told to stop, Mr. Evely ran for a short distance before being confronted by two additional police officers. Mr. Evely was forcibly pushed to the ground, and, according to the testimony of one officer, landed face first. Mr. Evely would later testify that he went to the ground willingly. Mr. Evely was arrested and charged with mischief and obstructing police.
His trial was scheduled for August 26-27, 2024 in the Ontario Court of Justice. Mr. Evely pleaded not guilty and asserted his Charter right not to be arbitrarily arrested or detained. The Justice Centre is supporting his defence.
On January 23, 2024, the Federal Court ruled that the government’s use of the Emergencies Act against the Freedom Convoy was unconstitutional. As a result, the Crown has been forced to abandon any appeals to the Emergencies Act in their attempts to justify police prohibiting Mr. Evely from walking toward the Ottawa War Memorial. Rather, Crown prosecutors claimed that the common law granted police the authority to stop and detain Mr. Evely.
Relying on prior precedent against such authority established after the G-20 protests in Toronto, Evely challenged police authority to arrest him under section 9 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, arguing that his arrest and detention were arbitrary.
Lawyer Chris Fleury said, “The actions of the Ottawa police in locking down downtown Ottawa and preventing all civilians from accessing public areas greatly exceeded their powers under the common law. Mr. Evely’s arrest for simply being inside of the locked down area was arbitrary.”
UPDATE: September 17, 2024
The decision in Mr. Evely case was rendered orally in the Ontario Court of Justice on the morning of September 17, 2024. Mr. Evely lost on the Charter motion and was convicted of both obstruction and mischief. Counsel will confer with him on whether to file an appeal.
