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Four years ago, Justin Trudeau's government banned unvaccinated Canadians from planes and trains. Now, Karl Harrison and Shaun Rickard are challenging this in court to prevent future restrictions.

Their new case, challenging the government's authority to limit Charter rights under public health measures, will be heard this Monday, November 3, at the Federal Court in Toronto.

“It’s not actually an appeal from the first case,” Harrison clarified. “The cases launched in 2021 were administrative. This one is about establishing whether the so-called ‘unvaccinated’ can be defined as a protected class under Section 15 of the Charter.”

LINK & INSTRUCTIONS HOW TO ATTEND OUR FEDERAL COURT HEARING VIA ZOOM NEXT MONDAY

*Repost & share - We need to show the court that there is still very much public interest in this incredibly important landmark case. No government can be allowed to invoke such vile overreaching… pic.twitter.com/HvS4leUZ95

— Shaun Rickard (@ShaunRickard67) October 30, 2025

In 2021, both men were shocked by the government's unprecedented "layered protection" actions against COVID.

“I was a permanent resident here for 35 years,” Harrison explained. “The fact that we weren’t allowed to leave the country — couldn’t even visit sick parents — was egregious. It seemed somewhat tyrannical.”

Rickard recalls their determination to act: “We were angry — very angry — and we decided to do whatever we could to push back.”

With lawyer Sam Presvelos, the pair crowdfunded their lawsuit, one of four early challenges including those by Brian Peckford and Maxime Bernier.

Former PhD statistician turned author @ReginaWatteel reveals COVID scientific fraud that extended beyond misinformation, aiming to deceive, vilify, and advocate harm against a specific Canadian group, setting the stage for future vaccine mandates.

MORE @ https://t.co/q1sU5KC2MD pic.twitter.com/CsWwTX8Hdy

— Tamara Ugolini 🇨🇦 (@TamaraUgo) April 2, 2024

Despite their original cases being dismissed, Harrison and Rickard contend that legal principles remain unresolved. Their 15,000 pages of evidence, including internal communications, allegedly show that the Public Health Agency of Canada and Health Canada did not recommend the travel ban.

Rickard explained that the government sought scientific justification for an already decided policy. Dr. Celia Lourenco's cross-examination revealed that PHAC and Health Canada provided no scientific evidence to support Trudeau's desired actions.

“It points to the fact that the Prime Minister, in my view, was lying. And I think that the Minister of Transport was lying, and all of them. Anybody who said that [this was based on science], whether it be Theresa Tam or anybody else, was basically just lying,” furthered Harrison.

Trudeau vilified and ostracized the unvaccinated while on the campaign trail in 2021 (& onward)

Would this kind of dangerous, dehumanizing & segregationist rhetoric constitute jail time under his new hate speech law? pic.twitter.com/HpNxTAr5aQ

— Tamara Ugolini 🇨🇦 (@TamaraUgo) March 2, 2024

The men seek judicial recognition that Canadians should not be forced to choose between mobility rights and bodily autonomy. “You shouldn’t have to give up one right to exercise another,” Harrison said. “Canadians have the right to say no… without punishment.”

Rickard warned that the issue remains urgent: “These mandates were never revoked, only suspended. If new legislation like Bills C-8 or C-9 passes, the government could bring them back at any time.” He urges anyone interested in the case to register to observe the proceedings online via Zoom, with details available through Rickard’s X account and the Institute for Freedom and Justice.

"The bottom line is,” warns Harrison, “that if a precedent is not set, then any government moving forward would be free to do the same thing again.”