North Bay decorator still in court battle over COVID-19 pandemic restraining order
A North Bay decorator who made headlines during the COVID-19 pandemic is still involved in court battles related to her refusal to follow orders from the local health unit.
After repeated warnings from the North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit, Alexandra Stewart was ordered to close her business to all but online sales in a motion dated April 17, 2021.
Stewart repeatedly refused to enforce COVID-related restrictions requiring customers to wear masks and enforce physical distance requirements.
A restraining order was granted May 21 of that year to enforce the health unit’s orders. Less than a month later, on June 11, the order was lifted as the province eased pandemic rules.
That didn’t end the court battle, however, as Stewart made an application to be compensated for “damages for economic injury allegedly sustained” by her business, Stewart’s Decorating, and related court costs. Both Stewart and her corporation were listed on the application.
In an unusual move, her lawyer applied to the Superior Court of Justice for permission to cross-examine health unit officials about the order without first providing any evidence or information explaining the arguments her lawyer planned to make on her behalf.
The reason? Stewart is still facing Provincial Offences Act cases related to her refusal to follow pandemic directives. She argued that delivering evidence in support of her application would violate her right to silence in the POA cases.
“Her refusal to depose her evidence at this time is explained in her desire to protect her right to silence,” the court decision said.
“Not guarding her right to silence, the argument continues, could result in non-compensable prejudice to both respondents.”
BREACH OF FAIRNESS
In response, the health unit argued that allowing their staff to be cross-examined without any information about the arguments Stewart’s lawyer planned to make would be a fundamental breach of fairness.
In its decision, the court ruled that Stewart may have the right to silence in her POA case, but the rules still require that evidence be produced for the current case before the courts unless there’s a reasonable argument to the contrary.
“In the context of these circumstances, I find that the right to silence protecting Ms. Stewart … does not outweigh the prejudice that would be suffered by the (health unit),” the court said.
- Download our app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
If Stewart’s lawyers are truly concerned about being prejudiced in the POA case, the court said it should wait until the POA case is completed before proceeding with the current application.
“The fact remains that, for all of the above reasons, hanging their hat on the right to silence would split the case, and is clearly a tactical strategy, which does not constitute a reasonable or adequate explanation,” the court said.
Read the full decision here.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Parents of infant who died in wrong-way crash on Ontario's Hwy. 401 were in same vehicle
Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit has released new details about a wrong-way collision in Whitby on Monday night that claimed the lives of four people.
Three Quebec men from same family father hundreds of children
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
B.C. mayor stripped of budget, barred from committees over Indigenous residential schools book
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
OPP's mandatory alcohol screening during traffic stops 'not acceptable': CCLA
A spike in impaired driving-related collisions has caused Ontario’s provincial police to begin enforcing mandatory alcohol screening (MAS) at all traffic stops in the Greater Toronto Area -- a move one civil rights group says is ‘not acceptable.’
Maple Leafs down Bruins 2-1 to force Game 7
William Nylander scored twice and Joseph Woll made 22 saves as the Toronto Maple Leafs downed the Boston Bruins 2-1 on Thursday to force Game 7 in their first-round series.
Jurors in Trump hush money trial hear recording of pivotal call on plan to buy affair story
Jurors in the hush money trial of Donald Trump heard a recording Thursday of him discussing with his then-lawyer and personal fixer a plan to purchase the silence of a Playboy model who has said she had an affair with the former president.
Southern Alberta store broken into by burly black bear
Staff at a small southern Alberta office supply store were shocked to find someone had broken into the business last week, but they were even more confused when they discovered the culprit was a bear.
Captain sentenced to 4 years for criminal negligence in fiery deaths of 34 aboard scuba boat
A federal judge on Thursday sentenced a scuba dive boat captain to four years in custody and three years supervised release for criminal negligence after 34 people died in a fire aboard the vessel.
New scam targets Canada Carbon Rebate recipients
Fake text message and email campaigns trying to get money and information out of unsuspecting Canadian taxpayers have started circulating, just months after the federal government rebranded the carbon tax rebate the Canada Carbon Rebate.