The legal proceedings against former Ontario politician Randy Hillier regarding his involvement in the 2022 convoy protest in Ottawa have been reinstated by the province’s highest court, overturning a previous decision to halt the charges. The charges were paused in late 2024 due to the case exceeding the mandatory time limits outlined by the Supreme Court of Canada. Superior Court Justice Kerry McVey determined that Hillier’s case lasted 31 months and 13 days, surpassing the 30-month cap, even after accounting for delays caused by the defense and exceptional circumstances.
In a recent ruling, the Court of Appeal for Ontario concluded that an additional 93 days, approximately three months, should be attributed to exceptional circumstances and deducted from the total time, bringing the case within the prescribed limits. This specific delay was related to the rescheduling of a motion to relocate the trial outside of Ottawa following a significant Supreme Court decision affecting such proceedings.
While acknowledging the exceptional circumstance, Justice McVey believed that the Crown did not take all necessary actions to expedite the motion’s rehearing, leading to the exclusion of this time from the calculation. However, the Appeal Court recognized that some delay was inevitable, as immediate scheduling for the rehearing was beyond the Crown’s control. Prosecutors actively attempted to address the delay and accepted the earliest available court date.
The case will now be returned to the Superior Court for further proceedings. Hillier, who served in the provincial legislature for 15 years, initially as a Progressive Conservative and later as an independent, faces nine charges stemming from his alleged involvement in the convoy protests that disrupted Ottawa’s downtown area. The charges include assaulting a peace officer, mischief, counseling others to commit mischief, and resisting or obstructing a peace officer. One of the accusations involves Hillier allegedly pushing a metal gate into an officer while attempting to access Parliament Hill.
