A class action lawsuit that could have silenced air horns and sought $9.8 million in damages from organizers and some of the truckers at the so-called “Freedom Convoy” in downtown Ottawa has been adjourned until Monday.
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Ottawa lawyers Paul Champ and Emilie Taman filed the statement of claim Friday, arguing that for the 6,000 residents in the immediate vicinity of the protest “the non-stop blaring horns have caused unbearable torment in the sanctity of their own homes.” The lawyers also asked for an injunction to stop the horn use.
But a lawyer defending three of the people named in the lawsuit asked for the adjournment and said organizers of the convoy had been negotiating to limit the horn use to between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.
Alberta lawyer Keith Wilson of the Calgary-based Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedom, called the case one of “national importance.”
“The truckers have an accord amongst themselves that the horns will not sound between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m.,” Wilson said at the virtual hearing before Ontario Superior Court Justice Hugh McLean.
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Wilson said he’d received more than 300 pages of documents since Friday that he had not had time to review.
Champ, however, argued for an interim injunction, saying there was evidence of “serious and irreparable harm” caused to the plaintiff and proposed class action members by the noise.
“They are co-ordinated, they are doing it, they are planning it,” Champ said. “It’s severe. It’s prolonged. And from the respondents’ own evidence, they’ll be doing it 12 hours a day.”
But McLean questioned how an injunction could be enforced, especially if new truckers arrive at the protest.
“It’s very easy if you block a road. Anyone who’s on the the road can simply be arrested,” McLean said. “Here it’s not that simple.”
In most cases, interfering with someone’s right to enjoy their residence is a criminal code matter — mischief or nuisance laws — and not something civil courts usually deal with, he said.
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“My question is, ‘How am I going to make an enforceable order?’ And if I’m at a loss of how to craft an order, then I shall not give it.”
The class action suit claims $9.8 million in private and punitive damages as well as for an injunction to end the truckers’ protest, which was in its ninth day Saturday.
Champ and Taman argue that for the 6,000 residents in the immediate vicinity of the protest “the non-stop blaring horns have caused unbearable torment in the sanctity of their own homes.”
They argue the horns emit sound at dangerous levels that can cause permanent hearing damage.
The plaintiff in the case is Zexi Li, described in the statement of claim as a 21-year-old public servant and uOttawa graduate who lives within five blocks of Parliament Hill. But the proposed members of the lawsuit include “all persons who reside in Ottawa, Ontario, from Bay Street to Elgin Street and Lisgar Street to Wellington Street.”
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Meanwhile, Champ posted a video on Twitter Saturday evening stating that Li was willing to drop the lawsuit if the protesters leave Ottawa by Monday at 10 a.m.
Dear Freedom Convoy Truckers, my client Ms Li is making an offer to settle the proposed class action against those who have been blaring their air horns in downtown Ottawa.
Depart in peace, and ye shall be released. See video…more details to come with the release. pic.twitter.com/n5rgrxz1TQ
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The statement names as defendants the convoy’s organizers: Chris Barber of Swift Current, Sask., Benjamin Dichter of Toronto, Tamara Lich of Medicine Hat, Alta., and Patrick King of Red Deer, Alta. It also names 60 “John Does” — drivers of semi-trucks in the protest who may later be identified as having taken part in the noise-making.
“A key tactic of the Freedom Convoy is blasting vehicle horns non-stop, all day,” the statement of claim notes.
“These horns include the air horns and train horns on the many semi-trucks. Air horns and train horns create an extremely loud noise as a warning. Air horns and train horns emit noise in the range of 100 to 150 decibels. These horns are not meant to be used for longer than a few seconds because the sound levels are dangerous and cause permanent damage to the human ear. Despite these dangers, the Freedom Convoy trucks have been blasting these dangerous horns continuously for 12 to 16 hours per day.”
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The horn blowing, which has been organized and encouraged by protest organizers, violates both City of Ottawa bylaws and the criminal code, the statement of claim alleges. The bylaw prohibit “ the ringing of any bell, sounding of any horn, or shouting in a manner likely to disturb the inhabitants of the city” and “unnecessary motor vehicle noise such as the sounding of the horn, revving of engine and the squealing of tires of any motor vehicle on any property other than a highway.”
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The level of noise also violates Ontario’s Occupation Health and Safety Act and constitute mischief and causing a disturbance under the criminal code, the statement alleges.
The statement also notes that “ exposure to loud noise for a prolonged period of time and sleep deprivation are both techniques that have been found to constitute torture, and are considered to be cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment under international law.”
Li says she has heard the horns in her apartment as late as 1:30 a.m. and that she’s called police at least 14 times to complain without anything being done.
“The honking of the horns is frequently accompanied by loud music, sounds of shouting and fireworks. The combination of these sounds makes the Plaintiff feel as though she is living in a war zone,” the suit alleges.
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The statement of claim was filed Friday but has not been proven in court.
READ MORE COVERAGE OF THE TRUCKER PROTEST:
Trucker protest noise may lead to ‘chronic annoyance and distress’
Truck convoy: Protest supporters move quickly to new fundraising website
Truck convoy: Residents, police brace as protest numbers expected to swell
Counter protest to take to the streets this weekend
Ottawa police expecting more trucks, protesters and counter-protesters over the weekend
UPDATED Trucker convoy: Cities across Canada mobilize as anti-mandate protests spread
NCC deciding what to do about protest spread, and kitchen shack, around Confederation Park
‘An occupation’: GoFundMe pulls plug on fundraiser for convoy protesters
‘We have to pay rent’: Downtown businesses brace for another weekend of protest pandemonium
Answers to your most common questions on the Ottawa truck protest
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