Ontario Amish Man Wins Legal Challenge Over Quarantine Act Compliance

A smartphone set to the opening screen of the ArriveCan app is seen in a file photo. The Canadian Press/Giordano Ciampini

A member of an Ontario Amish community has won a legal battle after previously being convicted of not complying with the Quarantine Act during COVID-19.

Niagara Provincial Offences Court overturned the Amish man’s conviction and gave him a suspended sentence without a fine, according to the Canadian charity The Democracy Fund (TDF) which provided him legal representation.

TDF senior litigation counsel Adam Blake-Gallipeau told The Epoch Times that the man had not been properly notified about the original court proceedings and did not make an appearance. On that basis the court overturned the conviction, Blake-Gallipeau said.

The Amish man had been accused by Crown prosecutors of non-compliance with COVID-19 regulations and failure to complete the ArriveCan app, according to an Oct. 1 TDF news release.

He received a ticket when crossing the border into Canada early in the pandemic. The Crown accused him of failing to provide required information through the app.

Early in the pandemic, the federal government made it mandatory for travellers to report and provide health information via the ArriveCan app. The requirement became voluntary after September 2022.

TDF said the Amish do not use smartphones due to their traditional way of life and therefore the individual was not able to provide information to the government using the app.

The court had previously overturned the conviction, which led to the suspended sentence with no fine when the matter returned to court on Sept. 25.

A separate application to reopen the conviction of a second Amish client was denied earlier this year.

“The outcome ensures that a member of the Amish community is spared undue hardship caused by financial penalties and credit problems,” TDF said in the news release.

Blake-Gallipeau noted the Amish were living a lifestyle permitted by religious freedoms.

“We’re pleased with the result since it ensures that our client is no longer threatened with the destruction of his credit rating and financial penalties,” he said.

The clients now live in the United States following marriage, TDF said.

TDF said many of its Amish clients are facing substantial fines and property liens that threaten their farms and traditional way of life.

The outcome is similar to another case in May where the TDF represented Amish families also accused of not complying with the quarantine act.

More than $38,000 in fines were waived and convictions set aside in that case. The families were also from an Ontario Amish community and were accused of not using the ArriveCan app during COVID lockdowns after crossing the border at Niagara Falls.

In that case, TDF lawyers won after seven months of negotiations and multiple court appearances on behalf of the group.