A Moose Jaw Provincial Court judge has handed out $21,300 in total fines to four people who participated in a freedom rally in 2021 and violated pandemic-related health orders.
Judge Brian Hendrickson announced on April 4 that he would fine Mark Friesen $10,000, Richard Wintringham $6,500, Chey Craik $2,800 and Jasmin Grandel $2,000, based on evidence called during a trial on March 29.
In turn, the judge gave Grandel 3.5 years to pay the fine, Friesen and Wintringham three years and Craik two years.
The judge indicated that the Crown had proven that the four had engaged in a prohibited act — disobeying a public health order — and had fully confirmed their identities; thus, they were guilty.
“I agree (with the defence that) there’s no evidence as to the impact of the public health restriction in this case (and) no evidence that anyone contracted COVID-19 … ,” Judge Hendrickson said.
“However, I also accept (from the Crown that) there was a valid medical reason for the order restricting the size of outdoor gatherings,” he added. “The order was established based on the scientific and medical information available in an attempt to limit the potential spread of COVID-19.”
Trial evidence
None of the four appeared physically during the trial, while only Grandel appeared by phone, where she pleaded guilty.
A post was made on social media that encouraged people to attend a freedom rally on Jan. 16, 2021, Crown prosecutor Rob Parker explained while reading the facts. The roughly 100 people gathered at Sunningdale School before walking toward Main Street and setting up adjacent to Humpty’s Restaurant.
At that time, a public health order was in place prohibiting gatherings of more than 10 people.
Police told people they were there to maintain safety and did not intend to issue tickets randomly, he continued. However, officers identified — and ticketed — Friesen, Wintringham, Craik and Grandel because they each gave presentations.
Friesen, 51, and Wintringham, 59, are from Saskatoon, Grandel, 30, is from Regina and Craik, 46, is from Moose Jaw.
Grandel’s guilty plea is a mitigating factor, but the aggravating factor is she has received six similar tickets — totalling $14,680 — elsewhere, Parker added. Therefore, she should be fined $3,500 since the mandatory minimum of $2,800 was inappropriate.
Defence lawyer Elaine Anderson argued that Grandel should be fined $1,000 since a Regina judge recently imposed $1,400 on her. Moreover, she argued the woman’s guilty plea was a mitigating factor, while the “totality” of her “unusually large fine amounts” that she accumulated occurred before she was ever convicted.
A struggling mother
The Crown’s $3,500 suggestion was not “doable,” Grandel said, since she is a recently single mother with a new job and no other financial support.
“I am taking responsibility with my guilty plea and am owning up to my actions over the years,” she said. “… I’m buried in these fines.
“I don’t see how I can pay them all out. I’m trying to budget, I’m trying to do my best,” Grandel added, “but I’m very worried about my financial stability over the next few years.”
It’s inaccurate that she was unaware of the consequences considering she received six other fines totalling over $14,000, Parker said. She continued participating in the rallies, so these penalties were not surprising.
Grandel replied that she was financially secure when she received the first few tickets because her then-husband supported her while she was in school. Now, she looks after their child and receives no monetary help.
“I solely regret what I did,” she added.
In a “(King) Solomon-like decision,” Judge Hendrickson fined her $2,000, which he noted would financially affect her but also recognized the circumstances.
The three unwise men
Friesen has been convicted seven other times — one for not wearing a mask and the rest for attending rallies — and received fines totalling $37,850, Parker said. His fines have steadily increased, so he should be penalized $12,000 here.
“It’s quite clear … Mr. Friesen continues to be involved in these matters, but on each one occasion, he is not there as a bystander (but) he is there as a participant,” Parker said, adding he is a well-known political figure with an online following.
Meanwhile, Wintringham has received $21,700 in total fines for attending rallies and not wearing a mask, so he should receive a $7,000 penalty, the Crown added. Also, this is Craik’s first offence, so he should receive the mandatory minimum of $2,800.
