OTTAWA, ON: The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms announces that a sentencing hearing has been scheduled for Guy Meister on Friday, July 25, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. ET at the Ontario Court of Justice located at 161 Elgin Street in Ottawa. Mr. Meister was arrested during the peaceful Freedom Convoy protest in February 2022 as part of a larger police crackdown in the area and later convicted of mischief and obstructing police.
Mr. Meister, a peaceful Canadian trucker, travelled to Ottawa to protest the federal government’s Covid vaccine mandate for cross-border truckers.
On February 18, 2022, while Mr. Meister sat in a parked truck near Rideau and Sussex, heavily armed tactical officers in full riot gear, with no visible identification, smashed the truck’s window and arrested Mr. Meister at gunpoint.
Following his arrest, he was zip-tied and denied access to legal counsel. He was also held in sub-zero temperatures for over three hours inside an Ontario Provincial Police transport vehicle, without access to a washroom.
Ottawa police then forced him to sign an undertaking without any legal advice, before releasing him to the cold streets of Ottawa. His vehicle was later found impounded with the windows left open and snow covering the interior seats, costing thousands in damages.
Mr. Meister has no criminal record and has a long history of volunteerism and civic engagement in his community.
The Crown is seeking a sentence of 60 days of conditional house arrest followed by 12 months of probation. Mr. Meister’s legal counsel argued that his arrest and detention violated multiple constitutional rights, including his Charter-protected freedom of expression under section 2(b), his protection from arbitrary detention under section 9, and his right to legal counsel without delay under section 10(b).
Constitutional lawyer Brian Doody said, “Mr. Meister peacefully exercised his Charter right to protest – for this he was detained without access to a lawyer or basic necessities and his property purposefully damaged.”
Mr. Meister’s sentencing brief includes several favourable letters of reference, demonstrating his character and community support.
“I’m incredibly grateful to the Justice Centre and to all the Canadians who support its work. Their support reminded me that I wasn’t alone,” said Mr. Meister.
