# Canadian court dismisses anti-vaxers’ claim; assesses court costs at $190,000 **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 24, 2024, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-court-dismisses-anti-vaxers-claim-assesses-court-costs-at-190-000/1012087 "2024-12-24T02:19:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2024, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-court-dismisses-anti-vaxers-claim-assesses-court-costs-at-190-000/1012087/1 "2024-12-24T02:19:53Z")
_Covid issue, but putting it here because of the « no debates » rule of n the Quarantine Zone_ 473 hospital workers sued several hospitals in Ontario, the Premier, past and current health ministers, etc, arguing that vaccine requirements for health workers breached their charter rights, breached various forms of legislation, and amounted to misfeasance of public office, conspiracy, intimidation, and intentional infliction of mental anguish. The Ontario Superior court disagreed and dismissed their claim on a pre-trial motion to strike. The judge had some choice words for the plaintiffs. > [@](#): > > The court also said the claim constitutes an abuse of process because “the scope of the action is prejudicial, the pleadings are frivolous and vexatious and many of the plaintiffs weren’t named or improperly listed.” > > “It pleads bald allegations without material facts.” > > The claim failed to prove the defendants were working to conspire with each other to declare “a false pandemic and implementation of coercive and damaging measures” that violated the plaintiffs’ constitutional rights. > > “It strains all credulity to accept that the Premier of Ontario, a number cabinet ministers and 54 non-governmental defendants somehow conspired to concoct a plan to declare a ‘false pandemic’ all for the predominant purpose of harming the plaintiffs,” reads the court ruling. Having dismissed the clam, the court turned to the issue of court costs, traditionally awarded in Canada to the successful parties in litigation > [@](#): > > Instead, the court, taking into account “the claim’s inflammatory, unfounded, and outlandish allegations of conspiracy and misrepresentation” sought punitive measures against the plaintiffs and awarded reduced costs to the hospitals, including disbursements at $175,000. The judge tacked on $15,000 payable to the province, for a total of $190,000. That’s about $400 per plaintiff, but costs are normally joint and several. I think this qualifies as an example of « Fuck around and find out. » ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2024, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-court-dismisses-anti-vaxers-claim-assesses-court-costs-at-190-000/1012087/2 "2024-12-24T02:45:25Z")
Forgot the link: > **[Hospital workers who refused COVID vaccine lose court battle](https://www.sootoday.com/local-news/hospital-workers-who-refused-covid-vaccine-lose-court-battle-9997794)** > > More than 50 hospitals and hospital groups named in a class-action lawsuit by employees terminated or suspended for not getting a COVID-19 vaccine ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2024, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-court-dismisses-anti-vaxers-claim-assesses-court-costs-at-190-000/1012087/3 "2024-12-24T03:00:12Z")
What a bunch of clowns. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2024, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-court-dismisses-anti-vaxers-claim-assesses-court-costs-at-190-000/1012087/4 "2024-12-24T03:12:23Z")
What are “charter rights” and what did the plaintiffs claim was a breach of them? ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2024, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-court-dismisses-anti-vaxers-claim-assesses-court-costs-at-190-000/1012087/5 "2024-12-24T03:53:55Z")
The charter, IIRC, is something like the constitution/ bill of rights in the US. [The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms](https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/csj-sjc/rfc-dlc/ccrf-ccdl/) ---
**Author:** ![Strenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@Strenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strenger)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2024, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-court-dismisses-anti-vaxers-claim-assesses-court-costs-at-190-000/1012087/6 "2024-12-24T05:57:09Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > The judge had some choice words for the plaintiffs. Those are _most_ choice words! No other comment, but that was one of the few things that made me smile today, and I thank you. What a sound beat-down performed roundly! Most satisfying to read. Would that we had in the US such decisive, affirmative decisions made by those who can. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2024, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-court-dismisses-anti-vaxers-claim-assesses-court-costs-at-190-000/1012087/7 "2024-12-24T17:34:47Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > The charter, IIRC, is something like the constitution/ bill of rights in the US. > > [The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms](https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/csj-sjc/rfc-dlc/ccrf-ccdl/) I’d presumed that their factual claims were bullshit, but I was wondering if they were also trying for a procedural/legalistic claim that it was illegal to fire them for refusing to be vaccinated. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2024, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-court-dismisses-anti-vaxers-claim-assesses-court-costs-at-190-000/1012087/8 "2024-12-24T18:55:37Z")
Dunno. Like Will Rogers, all I know is what I read in the papers. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2024, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-court-dismisses-anti-vaxers-claim-assesses-court-costs-at-190-000/1012087/9 "2024-12-24T19:24:59Z")
I daresay they were splattering the courthouse wall with whatever they thought might stick, no matter how thinly remote it might be. FAFO: Good. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2024, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-court-dismisses-anti-vaxers-claim-assesses-court-costs-at-190-000/1012087/10 "2024-12-24T23:11:29Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Having dismissed the clam, the court turned to the issue of court costs, If only the plaintiffs had had the brains to clam up _before_ they launched their laughable clam. I guess they weren’t the smartest clams in the bucket. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2024, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-court-dismisses-anti-vaxers-claim-assesses-court-costs-at-190-000/1012087/11 "2024-12-24T23:38:32Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Having dismissed the clam, the court turned to the issue of court costs, traditionally awarded in Canada to the successful parties in litigation > > > [@](#): > > > > Instead, the court, taking into account “the claim’s inflammatory, unfounded, and outlandish allegations of conspiracy and misrepresentation” sought punitive measures against the plaintiffs and awarded reduced costs to the hospitals, including disbursements at $175,000. Am naught but a legal neophyte but doesn’t that seem asymmetric ie if they had won, court costs would have been a lot more than $175k? ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2024, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-court-dismisses-anti-vaxers-claim-assesses-court-costs-at-190-000/1012087/12 "2024-12-24T23:41:39Z")
Hard to tell. This was well before trial, but obviously a lot of lawyerin’ had been going on. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2024, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-court-dismisses-anti-vaxers-claim-assesses-court-costs-at-190-000/1012087/13 "2024-12-25T00:21:58Z")
> [@](#): > > “It pleads bald allegations without material facts.” Applies to the antivax movement in general. > [@](#): > > The claim failed to prove the defendants were working to conspire with each other to declare “a false pandemic and implementation of coercive and damaging measures” that violated the plaintiffs’ constitutional rights. > > “It strains all credulity to accept that the Premier of Ontario, a number cabinet ministers and 54 non-governmental defendants somehow conspired to concoct a plan to declare a ‘false pandemic’ all for the predominant purpose of harming the plaintiffs,” reads the court ruling. Yeah, they didn’t exactly help their case by spewing the same sort of [“plandemic\*”](https://misinforeview.hks.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/kearney_plandemic_covid19_conspiracy_20201009.pdf) nonsense promulgated by conspiracy theorists elsewhere, including the U.S. and U.K. \*it was even made into [a musical](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/plandemic-musical-covid-conspiracists-1234984436/).