Ontario Court of Appeal reinstates charges against former MPP Randy Hillier in Freedom Convoy case

The Ontario Court of Appeal has revived criminal proceedings against former Lanark–Frontenac–Kingston MPP Randy Hillier. The court overturned a judge’s initial stay for unreasonable delay, allowing charges connected to the 2022 Freedom Convoy protest in Ottawa to proceed.

The decision was released March 20, setting aside a previous ruling that had stayed the case under the Charter right to be tried within a reasonable time.

Hillier was charged on March 28, 2022 in relation to his participation in the Freedom Convoy protest in downtown Ottawa. Charges, which have not been proven in court, include obstructing or resisting a peace officer, counselling an indictable offence, mischief and assaulting a peace officer.

The case began in the Ontario Court of Justice before Hillier elected to be tried by judge and jury in Superior Court.

His trial had been scheduled for Jan. 27 to Feb. 21, 2025, creating an anticipated total delay of 1,061 days, or about 35 months. After subtracting time attributed to defence delay and an exceptional circumstance, the application judge found the remaining delay was 31 months and 13 days, a length of time above the 30-month ceiling set by the Supreme Court of Canada in the case of R. v. Jordan.

The Crown appealed, arguing the judge should have deducted more time from the delay calculation.

According to court documents, the Court of Appeal found it was reasonable for the defence to wait for key video evidence from Parliament Hill.

In her decision, Justice Katherine van Rensburg said that she found the lower court erred in how it handled a delay tied to a separate legal development, a 2023 Supreme Court of Canada ruling (R v. Haevischer) that affected Hillier’s case.

“The Crown did in fact take reasonable steps to avoid the delay caused by the release of the Haevischer decision,” van Rensburg wrote.

The court found an additional 93 days should have been deducted as an exceptional circumstance, bringing the the delay to 28 months and four days.

“This brings the remaining delay under the Jordan threshold,” van Rensburg wrote….“I would allow the Crown’s appeal, set aside the stay and remit the proceedings to the Superior Court.”

Justices David M. Paciocco and D.A. Wilson agreed with the decision, the court documents state.

In an email newsletter, Hillier spoke out against the decision, claiming that during the COVID-19 pandemic, he advocated “for those disproportionately harmed by lockdowns.

“When I was prohibited from raising these issues inside the Ontario Legislature, I took my fight to the public square. For doing so, I have been branded a ‘political criminal,'” Hillier said.

He noted that this prosecution is now entering its fifth year, and has imposed a “severe emotional and financial toll” on him.

“Living on my CPP/OAS pension, I have spent approximately $200,000 in legal expenses. Since 2023, I have largely represented myself, yet the cost of seeking justice against the state remains staggering.”

Hillier said that the nine criminal charges against him “must be understood in their broader context.

“Between November 2020 and summer 2025, I successfully defended against 25 separate provincial offences, each carrying a maximum penalty of $100,000 and a year in jail. I was never convicted of any of them.”

Lanarkist will continue to follow this story as it develops.