Randy Hillier, a Kingston, Ont.,-area MPP, has been charged under the Reopening Ontario Act after organizing an anti-COVID-19 lockdown rally outside Queen’s Park Thursday morning.
Supporters banged pots and carried placards that read “Stop fake pandemic” and “Lockdowns make the rich, richer” on the front lawn of the legislature.
This is the second rally organized by Hillier in as many months to claim that the pandemic restrictions and lockdowns are unlawful and are causing more harm than good.
Video of Thursday’s event show almost no one in the large crowd wearing a mask. During Toronto’s lockdown, only 10 people are allowed to gather outside. Hillier’s gathering far exceeded that limit.
On Thursday afternoon, Global News learned that Toronto police issued a summons to the Hillier, the organizer of the event, to appear in court Jan. 7, 2021.
If found guilty, the penalty ranges from a minimum $10,000 fine up to a maximum of $100,000 and a year in jail.
Hillier said in a phone interview on Thursday that he is looking forward to his day in court, so that he can challenge the constitutionality of Ontario’s COVID-19 restrictions.
— With files from Global News’ Alexandra Mazur