Mom’s Diner co-owner Wesley Langlois admits he thought being acquitted of violating a public health order would taste a little sweeter.
His victory has left a bit of a sour taste because he feels he never should have been in court in the first place.
“I definitely feel relieved. I’m not as excited as I thought I would be because we weren’t looking for a win. (Fighting his charges) was just kind of the right thing to do at the time,” said Langlois as he sat outside Red Deer Court of Justice on Friday morning.
Moments before, Justice Jim Glass had acquitted Langlois of defying a public health order in January 2021. He was accused of allowing in-person dining at his West Park eatery in violation of health restrictions in place at the time. He was handed a $1,200 ticket.
Langlois has said he does not regret taking a stand but fighting his ticket has been stressful.
“Definitely. As a father of six, $1,200 doesn’t seem much to most people. But that’s a full fridge or half a rent payment and missed days at work and whatnot.
“So, yeah, it’s definitely been stressful to say the least.”
Langlois was in court for every appearance, even though it meant leaving wife and diner co-owner Leslie Clothier to manage it on her own.
Even the judge made a point of acknowledging Langlois’s diligence.
“Mr. Langlois, I certainly appreciate you being here every day you have been required to be here. I know it’s been a lot,” Glass told him.
Langlois would not have had it any other way.
“My mom always taught me to face the fire, to run to it, not away from it. I’m a man who handles my responsibilities.”
Langlois said he received lots of support during what became a nearly 33-month journey through the justice system.
“You betcha. Even people who didn’t think we were right for doing what we did as time progressed they saw the other side of the light. So, there was support from both sides.”
Like other central Albertans charged with violating the province’s Public Health Act, Langlois’s case was dismissed because of an Alberta judge’s ruling in July.
Court of King’s Bench Justice Barbara Romaine found Alberta’s Public Health Act was breached and COVID-related public health orders were invalid because politicians, instead of the chief medical officer of health made final decision on health restrictions. The decision was named after plaintiff and gym owner Rebecca Ingram, whose business was affected by health restrictions, including closures and distancing rules.
The same ruling also found various pandemic-related health restrictions did not violate the Canadian Charters of Rights Freedoms as lawyers defending many of those charged contended.
In light of the decision, the Crown Prosecutors Office decided there was no reasonable likelihood of success in the pandemic-related cases and applied to have charges withdrawn.
“Based on the Crown review of the Ingram case, it’s our position that indicates the relevant (chief medical officer of health) orders were made ultra vires (beyond the powers) of the Public Health Act,” Crown prosecutor Martha O’Connor told Justice Glass.
Charges against No More Lockdowns Rodeo Rally organizer Ty Northcott and Mirror Whistle Stop Cafe owner Chris Scott were dropped last month.
For Langlois’ lawyer Chad Williamson, his was the last of nearly 150 pandemic-related cases that he and law partner Yoav Niv have defended.
About half were resolved with guilty pleas and sentences that typically involved the defendant making a modest donation to a local food bank. “The rest were either withdrawn or discharged by the Crown during the litigation process. We ran a couple to trial and the Crown wasn’t successful there either.”
If Langlois had been convicted, he potentially faced $2,400 in fines — $1,200 for each day he had been accused of illegally serving meals in his diner.
Williamson is critical of the amount of time the courts, prosecutors, RCMP and health officials devoted to prosecuting pandemic-related alleged offences with so little to show for it.
“The entire infrastructure of, not just the justice system but the health system, that was employed to essentially shut people up and stop them from protesting what were declared to be invalid laws …”
As well, for some of those charged, the effects on their lives and businesses by their legal fights was devastating, he said.