The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, on behalf of George Katerberg, filed a constitutional challenge against the Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO) for denying his right to freedom of expression.

Like many, Mr. Katerberg holds strong political views surrounding the government’s handling of the Covid pandemic.

In March of 2024 he chose to rent a billboard to share his opinions.

The design featured images of Trudeau, Freeland, Ford, Tam, Singh and Fauci with the statements, “They knowingly lied about safety and stopping transmission” and “Canadians demand accountability”. It also featured an image of two hammers behind a Canadian flag, inspired a Pink Floyd album addressing government overreach.

Unknown to Mr. Katerberg, a similar logo was used in the 90’s by an American band promoting white supremacy. As a result, the MTO ordered the sign taken down and demanded that future designs be sent to them for preapproval.

The new design, submitted June 18th, featured a simple Canadian flag in place of the logo.

On June 28th he was again informed that the design was denied, stating “[t]he message on the billboard may be seen as promoting hatred or contempt for the individuals pictured on the billboard, which may violate certain policies regarding advertising.”

It “may” be seen as offensive and “may” violate policies. Does it?

Mr. Katerberg is seeking a judicial review. “The Sign does not promote violence, hatred, or contempt… Further, the sign does not target any ‘identifiable group’… To the extent that the six well-known public figures featured on the sign form a group at all, it is on the basis of their collective response to the Covid-19 pandemic in their political and/or professional capacity.”

Lawyer Chris Fleury added, “Mr. Katerberg’s proposed sign was a matter of legitimate expression protected by the Charter.”

Mr. Katerberg is fighting for our freedom of expression and for democratic accountability, and for these efforts we applaud him.

Holding our government to account is absolutely essential to a democracy; a effort that cannot be achieved without the rights and freedoms afforded by our Charter.

To read the Notice of Application filed by JCCF on behalf of Mr. Katerberg, click here 

To read the article written by The Canadian Independent, click here