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Pedersen’s Public Health Act tickets back in court June 2

Freedom rally organizer faces more than $10K in fines
WES - B. Pedersen tickets
Benita Pedersen, who’s organized “freedom rallies” across northern Alberta, is slated to be back in Westlock Provincial Court next month as two of the $1,200 Public Health Act tickets she received for organizing the Westlock events were set over to June 2.

WESTLOCK – The Westlock DJ behind the “freedom rallies”, outdoor church services and so-called COVID-19 information sessions across northern Alberta is slated to be back in court next month, as the Crown will be prosecuting her on a stack of Public Health Act tickets.

In Westlock Provincial Court May 5, Benita Pedersen’s two $1,200 tickets ($1,000, plus a 20 per cent victim fine surcharge) for breaching 73 (1) of the PHA (contravening an order of the Medical Officer of Health), specifically in relation to mass gatherings, were adjourned to June 2.

In a May 5 e-mail, Provincial Crown Dave Hall said that it’s his understanding all her tickets will be dealt with at one trial in Westlock and on June 2 they’ll set a date. Specialized prosecutions, Hall noted, is handling the case.

Pedersen, who previously stated on social media she has “zero intention of paying any of these (fines)” and claims she hasn’t broken any laws, hosted two anti-COVID-19 measures rallies in Westlock Feb. 11 and Feb. 25 and a series of others across the region in Athabasca, Barrhead, Bonnyville and Lac La Biche.

During an April 8 webcast dubbed The Thursday Fastball With Crusty Canuck, Pedersen said she had received eight tickets totaling $9,600 and “was going to wallpaper my room with them but they’re mismatched in colours — I’ve got yellow ones and white ones and now I have a pink one, so they’re all mismatched so I don’t think I’m going to use them as wallpaper.” Meanwhile at Pedersen’s Lac La Biche event April 16, she proudly told the crowd she had nine tickets that added up to $10,800 in fines.

When asked via e-mail May 5 how many tickets she currently has, Pedersen declined comment, while Alberta Court Checks stated in a May 6 e-mail she is scheduled to appear in Barrhead Provincial May 11 on one of the PHA 73(1) tickets.

“I have a message to all the authorities right now, I am not afraid of you, I am not scared. I will take another ticket. If you want to put me in jail, go ahead. I’d rather not go to jail, but I’m in a sense prepared to if that’s what this is going to come to,” Pedersen said during the April 8 webcast.

“I’m fighting for all Canadians and I want a complete restoration of the freedoms and rights of all Canadians, that’s my goal. And I’m in this for the next year, the next decade, the next two decades if that’s what it takes. And if that costs me my time, my energy, my money, my freedom, my life, so be it.”

In the same May 5 e-mail, Pedersen also declined comment on the case, whether she’ll continue hosting rallies and if any organizations or businesses are assisting her with legal representation. Rebel News Alberta Bureau chief Sheila Gunn Reid stated in February that the website has offered to help Pedersen contest her tickets via its Fight The Fines project.

“I have a lawyer handling the matter. Anyone who is curious to know more is welcome to attend on Wednesday, June 2 at 10 a.m. It is an open courtroom,” she stated in the May 5 e-mail.

Of note, provincial courtrooms are currently closed to the general public due to COVID-19.

Other PHA tickets

Six Public Health Act tickets have been withdrawn in Westlock Provincial Court this spring, with three dropped April 7 with little explanation.

In both cases Hall told the presiding judge that the special prosecutors who handle the tickets had asked for their withdrawal. 

“Prosecutors assess these cases, as they do all cases, on an ongoing basis and ensure all aspects of the evidence are carefully considered at every stage of a prosecution. The Alberta Crown Prosecution Service does not commence/continue prosecution unless the evidence establishes a reasonable likelihood of conviction,” the prosecutors’ office told the Westlock News via e-mail April 8. 

“This is a higher standard of proof than that of the police. Courts have an even higher standard to meet — before a person may be convicted of any crime, the case must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. These checks and balances mean that it is possible for one standard to be met, but for the case not to proceed at the next more onerous standard.”

Previously the Westlock News reached out to the offices of Premier Jason Kenney and justice minister Kaycee Madu to establish the purpose of enforcement if tickets are ultimately dismissed once they make it to court — neither office answered.

In his May 4 press conference outlining additional COVID-19 restrictions, Kenney did say they’re introducing "tougher enforcement" for repeat offenders and the province has doubled the basic fine for violating public health orders to $2,000, while the most severe fine remains at $100,000.

According to a published CTV report, 576 tickets have been issued under the PHA between March 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021 in Alberta, and just 12 per cent have resulted in a conviction. In addition, Calgary police say about 76 per cent of the tickets they’ve issued under the PHA that have made it to court have been withdrawn or quashed by the Crown, or the ticket control unit.

George Blais, TownandCountryToday.com

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