Updated: September 21, 2023
Ottawa police arrest Freedom Convoy protestor Guy Meister
At 12:15 p.m. on February 18, 2022, Guy Meister was sitting beside his friend, Mike, in a truck near the intersection of Rideau and Sussex, downtown Ottawa. Both were in Ottawa to protest the Government of Canada’s Covid vaccine mandate for truckers. Mr. Meister believes in the freedom to make medical decisions without government interference.
Suddenly, tactical officers in riot gear encircled the rig, armed with hammers and AR-15 assault rifles. No ID numbers featured on their uniforms. One of the officers smashed the driver-side window with a hammer and arrested Mike, covered in glass. Another officer arrested Mr. Meister. His hands were zip-tied behind his back.
Guy Meister denied access to legal counsel and charged
After half an hour in the custody of the tactical officers, Mr. Meister was transferred to the custody of Ottawa police. They emptied his pockets and replaced the zip-ties with handcuffs. His fingers went numb, and he asked that he be cuffed in front of his body. The police refused to loosen the cuffs, retorting that “they are gonna hurt.”
Mr. Meister was detained in an unheated transport vehicle without access to food, water, washrooms, medical care, or legal counsel for more than two hours. Eventually, he was driven to a remote, makeshift processing station with eight others, who were taking into the processing trailer one at a time. Without any access to legal counsel, those who had been arrested were forced to sign an undertaking before they could be released. His question, “Don’t we even get to have a lawyer?” was ignored by Ottawa police.
He was charged with mischief and with obstructing police.
Arms, shoulders, and hands aching, Mr. Meister signed the undertaking without counsel. He reported being in extreme physical pain and wanted to get out. After more than three hours, police released him onto Conroy Road, where he was reunited with his friend, Mike. Avoiding the cold February wind in a bus shelter, they waited for a friend to pick them up. Later, he discovered that his truck had been towed away. Finally, one week after his arrest, he recovered his truck only to find the windows rolled down and the seat covered in snow. He jump-started it and paid the $1,200 to release his truck from impound.
Lawyers argue that Ottawa police violated constitutional rights and freedoms
“Mr. Meister, a hard-working Canadian trucker, was arrested for exercising his constitutional right to peacefully protest,” states lawyer Sayeh Hassan, who was supervising the legal defence of dozens of Freedom Convoy participants at the time. “It is imperative for Canadians to have the right and freedom to peacefully oppose government mandates without facing punishment, including arrest and criminal charges. Justice Rouleau correctly recognized that the majority of Freedom Convoy protestors were exercising their fundamental, democratic rights. A stay of charges in this case would send a clear message that the rights of Canadians to peacefully protest is and will be protected.”
On February 24, 2023, lawyer Brian Doody argued that Mr. Meister was arbitrarily detained and arrested in violation of his right not to be arbitrarily arrested or detained – protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
On September 21, 2023, a five-day trail for Mr. Meister began at the Ontario Court of Justice in Ottawa.
Mr. Meister believes that his involvement in the Freedom Convoy was an exercise of his Charter section 2(b) right to “freedom of thought, belief, opinion, and expression.” He also argues that police did not have “reasonable suspicion” or “reasonable and probable grounds” for his arrest. Further, he asserts his “right to be secure against unreasonable search or seizure” with regard to the freezing of his bank accounts. Because Mr. Meister was denied the right to speak to a lawyer “without delay,” and because evidence against him was gathered even while his right to speak to a lawyer was violated, he argues that certain evidence must be excluded from his trial as a result.
Mr. Meister also claims that the federal Emergencies Act failed to properly define an area where such rights would be suspended on the basis of “reasonable limits prescribed by law,” which is required by section 1 of the Charter. In other words, he argues that there had not been a legally defined “red zone” where his right to protest had been suspended.’
Guy Meister’s trial scheduled for March 2025
On October 7, 2024, the dates to complete the trial of Mr. Meister were set for March 18, 19, and 24, 2025.
