Very few illegal vaccine mandate cases are being tried on their merits

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

This is an update from March 2023. More than 100 “first responders” from Ontario (police, medical, firefighters, etc.) filed a lawsuit against the Ontario Government and their respective organizations. It sought over $100 million in damages.

For context, it’s important to know the history. Originally, there was an application filed back in April 2021 on behalf of a number of Ontario police officers. This case was heavily promoted, and donations solicited, from a group called Police on Guard.

Police on Guard are a group of active duty and retired police officers who have assembled to create a haven of truth and justice for all members of law enforcement and the public. Over the past year, they share with the public that they have seen the foundation of our country irreversibly damaged. They asked that all active-duty officers carefully consider the legislation they are imposing and analyze all information surrounding this Public Health emergency with an open and critical mind. It’s interesting that P.O.G. was never listed as a client, despite their public role.

That case sat idly for several months — as always — before the next version came out. Now, the case is still considered active, and no one bothered to tell the public that this application wasn’t being pursued. It’s unclear if any of the donor money was ever returned.

Worth noting; there was an April 2021 Application from Children’s Health Defense (Canada). It also appears that it’s not being pursued, and nothing has been publicly announced about returning donations.

The next iteration was by a group called Take Action Canada. This was more broadly to challenge the vaccine passports that were being implemented in the Fall of 2021.  Although the clients’ livelihoods made this case urgent, nothing was actually filed until March 2023. That’s right, it took approximately a year and a half from the time the suit was being organized, until the time a Statement of Claim was filed in Ontario Superior Court. Clearly, there is no urgency whatsoever in getting this done.

What was the product? A rehash of filings from British Columbia and the Federal Court that had already been thrown out as “bad beyond argument”. People who had been forced from their professions were paying retainer fees for copies of pleadings previously tossed, and more than once.

An Amended Statement of Claim was filed. It pleaded for some specific details for 35 of the Plaintiffs. The likely reason for doing this was to address criticisms from earlier cases that the claims lacked facts and background information. However, the Amended Claim also stated that “Particulars would be provided later.” This likely won’t sit well with the Court, as Defendants are entitled to know the case against them.

The City of Hamilton filed a Notice of Intent to Defend. Note, this is not the same thing as filing a Defence. It’s just a short statement that they intend to do so.

According to a recent response from the Court Registry, no actual defences have been filed, nor are there any hearings scheduled. In other words, it’s just another dead-end case.

Should things progress, there are a few major problems to contend with:

• First: the Plaintiffs mostly (if not entirely) are/were unionized employees, which means there’s a requirement to go through the grievance process. This typically ends in arbitration. While there are limited ways to argue around this, this document falls far short of that.
• Second: as with similar cases, this one is pleaded so poorly that it’s likely to get struck due to its incomprehensible and incoherent nature. While not fatal, it will be another significant delay.
• Third: given that it took so long to even get a case filed, the Defendants are likely to argue that the issues are “moot” (as in no longer relevant).
• Fourth: even if some of the Plaintiffs were to seek out a new lawyer and file a new case, the Statute of Limitations — typically 2 years — will prevent them from refiling.

This case was announced two years ago and hasn’t gotten past the pleadings stage. This is comparable with Vaccine Choice Canada’s 2020 suit, which was dormant for 2 1/2 years before a Motion to Strike was brought. That will be heard January 30^th February 1^st 2024.

Again, few of these cases are being tried on the merits. They are being struck or dismissed because they aren’t written in an intelligible way or have fatal defects.