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Disciplined Police Officer Asks Court To Reverse Violation Of His Privacy And Freedom Of Expression

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News release from the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms

The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms announces that Constable Michael Brisco has asked the Ontario Divisional Court in Toronto to review a charge of discreditable conduct for donating $50 to the peaceful Freedom Convoy protest in Ottawa in 2022.

Constable Brisco was on unpaid leave due to the Windsor Police Service’s (WPS) vaccine mandate when, on February 8, 2022, he exercised his freedoms of expression and association by donating $50 to the 2022 Freedom Convoy protest via GiveSendGo. He did so privately and without mentioning his capacity as police officer.

Before the donation had reached Freedom Convoy recipients, a court order froze the GiveSendGo account. Shortly after the freeze, GiveSendGo’s website was hacked. Donor information was leaked to the public. On February 16, the Ontario Provincial Police obtained the leaked information and, despite knowing that the information had been illegally hacked, relayed that information to various police services around the province. Nothing in the leaked information identified Constable Brisco as a police officer. However, his name surfaced when the stolen database was cross-referenced with a police members database. He was called in for an interview with a WPS investigator and was required to answer the investigator’s questions about the donation pursuant to the Police Services Act.

The WPS charged Constable Brisco with discreditable conduct and eventually summoned him to a Discipline Hearing. The case against him was motivated by the assumption that he had contributed to an illegal protest. In support of the claim that the protest had been illegal, however, the WPS presented nothing more than the contents of newspaper reports, citing the opinions of the Prime Minister, the Premier of Ontario, and the (then) Ottawa Police Chief.

The prosecution made submissions about the Ambassador Bridge protest, trying to tie it to the Freedom Convoy protest in Ottawa. Trucks had parked on the bridge between Windsor and Detroit in a separate protest against Covid restrictions. The implication was that Constable Brisco’s donation supported the bridge blockade in Windsor. But there was no financial or even organizational connection between the Freedom Convoy in Ottawa and the Ambassador Bridge protest. Furthermore, Constable Brisco stated his donation was intended for the protest in Ottawa, not for the protest in Windsor. Nevertheless, on March 24, 2023, after a six-day hearing before a Hearing Officer, Brisco was found guilty of discreditable conduct. On May 18, 2023, he was fined the equivalent of two-weeks’ pay.

That decision was appealed on June 14, 2023, but it was upheld by the Ontario Civilian Police Commission in February 2024. In response to this decision, lawyers provided by the Justice Centre have assisted Constable Brisco in applying for a judicial review – a process by which courts make sure that the decisions of administrative bodies (e.g., the Windsor Police Service) are fair, reasonable, and lawful.

With assistance from the Justice Centre, Constable Brisco continues to stand up for his Charter-protected freedom of expression. He made a private political donation and did not identify himself as a police officer. Like other Canadians, police officers enjoy Charter freedoms and can express themselves within reason. Canadians should not be punished for expressing their political views, especially when evidence against them is obtained by unlawful means.

Darren Leung, one of the lawyers for Constable Brisco, stated, “It was unfortunate that private donor information was unlawfully accessed. It is outrageous that the Ontario Provincial Police obtained this information to assist in persecuting police officers who were exercising their right to free expression. The evidence used to convict Constable Brisco amounted to nothing more than opinions from people who did not like the message. We are hopeful that the Divisional Court will see that the entire conviction was unreasonable.”

Constable Brisco, a highly trained and respected police officer of 15 years, is now back on active duty.

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Former Trudeau minister faces censure for ‘deliberately lying’ about Emergencies Act invocation

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By Christina Maas of Reclaim The Net

Trudeau’s former public safety minister, Marco Mendicino, finds himself at the center of controversy as the Canadian Parliament debates whether to formally censure him for ‘deliberately lying’ about the justification for invoking the Emergencies Act.

Trudeau’s former public safety minister, Marco Mendicino, finds himself at the center of controversy as the Canadian Parliament debates whether to formally censure him for “deliberately lying” about the justification for invoking the Emergencies Act and freezing the bank accounts of civil liberties supporters during the 2022 Freedom Convoy protests.

Conservative MP Glen Motz, a vocal critic, emphasized the importance of accountability, stating, “Parliament deserves to receive clear and definitive answers to questions. We must be entitled to the truth.”

The Emergencies Act, invoked on February 14, 2022, granted sweeping powers to law enforcement, enabling them to arrest demonstrators, conduct searches, and freeze the financial assets of those involved in or supported, the trucker-led protests. However, questions surrounding the legality of its invocation have lingered, with opposition parties and legal experts criticizing the move as excessive and unwarranted.

On Thursday, Mendicino faced calls for censure after Blacklock’s Reporter revealed formal accusations of contempt of Parliament against him. The former minister, who was removed from cabinet in 2023, stands accused of misleading both MPs and the public by falsely claiming that the decision to invoke the Emergencies Act was based on law enforcement advice. A final report on the matter contradicts his testimony, stating, “The Special Joint Committee was intentionally misled.”

Mendicino’s repeated assertions at the time, including statements like, “We invoked the Emergencies Act after we received advice from law enforcement,” have been flatly contradicted by all other evidence. Despite this, he has yet to publicly challenge the allegations.

The controversy deepened as documents and testimony revealed discrepancies in the government’s handling of the crisis. While Attorney General Arif Virani acknowledged the existence of a written legal opinion regarding the Act’s invocation, he cited solicitor-client privilege to justify its confidentiality. Opposition MPs, including New Democrat Matthew Green, questioned the lack of transparency. “So you are both the client and the solicitor?” Green asked, to which Virani responded, “I wear different hats.”

The invocation of the Act has since been ruled unconstitutional by a federal court, a decision the Trudeau government is appealing. Critics argue that the lack of transparency and apparent misuse of power set a dangerous precedent. The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms echoed these concerns, emphasizing that emergency powers must be exercised only under exceptional circumstances and with a clear legal basis.

Reprinted with permission from Reclaim The Net.

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Australian doctor who criticized COVID jabs has his suspension reversed

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From LifeSiteNews

By David James

‘I am free, I am no longer suspended. I can prescribe Ivermectin, and most importantly – and this is what AHPRA is most afraid of – I can criticize the vaccines freely … as a medical practitioner of this country,’ said COVID critic Dr. William Bay.

A long-awaited decision regarding the suspension of the medical registration of Dr William Bay by the Medical Board of Australia has been handed down by the Queensland Supreme Court. Justice Thomas Bradley overturned the suspension, finding that Bay had been subject to “bias and failure to afford fair process” over complaints unrelated to his clinical practice.

The case was important because it reversed the brutal censorship of medical practitioners, which had forced many doctors into silence during the COVID crisis to avoid losing their livelihoods.

Bay and his supporters were jubilant after the decision. “The judgement in the matter of Bay versus AHPRA (Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency) and the state of Queensland has just been handed down, and we have … absolute and complete victory,” he proclaimed outside the court. “I am free, I am no longer suspended. I can prescribe Ivermectin, and most importantly – and this is what AHPRA is most afraid of – I can criticize the vaccines freely … as a medical practitioner of this country.”

Bay went on: “The vaccines are bad, the vaccines are no good, and people should be afforded the right to informed consent to choose these so-called vaccines. Doctors like me will be speaking out because we have nothing to fear.”

Bay added that the judge ruled not only to reinstate his registration, but also set aside the investigation into him, deeming it invalid. He also forced AHPRA to pay the legal costs. “Everything is victorious for myself, and I praise God,” he said.

The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA), which partners the Medical Board of Australia, is a body kept at arm’s length from the government to prevent legal and political accountability. It was able to decide which doctors could be deregistered for allegedly not following the government line. If asked questions about its decisions AHPRA would reply that it was not a Commonwealth agency so there was no obligation to respond.

The national board of AHPRA is composed of two social workers, one accountant, one physiotherapist, one mathematician and three lawyers. Even the Australian Medical Association, which also aggressively threatened dissenting doctors during COVID, has objected to its role. Vice-president Dr Chris Moy described the powers given to AHPRA as being “in the realms of incoherent zealotry”.

This was the apparatus that Bay took on, and his victory is a significant step towards allowing medical practitioners to voice their concerns about Covid and the vaccines. Until now, most doctors, at least those still in a job, have had to keep any differing views to themselves. As Bay suggests, that meant they abrogated their duty to ensure patients gave informed consent.

Justice Bradley said the AHPRA board’s regulatory role did not “include protection of government and regulatory agencies from political criticism.” To that extent the decision seems to allow freedom of speech for medical practitioners. But AHPRA still has the power to deregister doctors without any accountability. And if there is one lesson from Covid it is that bureaucrats in the Executive branch have little respect for legal or ethical principles.

It is to be hoped that Australian medicos who felt forced into silence now begin to speak out about the vaccines, the mandating of which has coincided with a dramatic rise in all-cause mortality in heavily vaccinated countries around the world, including Australia. This may prove psychologically difficult, though, because those doctors would then have to explain why they have changed their position, a discussion they will no doubt prefer to avoid.

The Bay decision has implications for the way the three arms of government: the legislature, the executive and the judiciary, function in Australia. There are supposed to be checks and balances, but the COVID crisis revealed that, when put under stress, the separation of powers does not work well, or at all.

During the crisis the legislature routinely passed off its responsibilities to the executive branch, which removed any voter influence because bureaucrats are not elected. The former premier of Victoria, Daniel Andrews, went a step further by illegitimately giving himself and the Health Minister positions in the executive branch, when all they were entitled to was roles in the legislature as members of the party in power. This appalling move resulted in the biggest political protests ever seen in Melbourne, yet the legislation passed anyway.

The legislature’s abrogation of responsibility left the judiciary as the only branch of government able to address the abuse of Australia’s foundational political institutions. To date, the judges have disappointed. But the Bay decision may be a sign of better things to come.

READ: Just 24% of Americans plan to receive the newest COVID shot: poll

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