CCF Appearing in Court to Challenge Tribunal Decision That Garnished Ontario Mayor's Bank Account

WHAT - On Monday, June 15 at 10 a.m. ET, the Canadian Constitution Foundation (CCF) will appear as an intervener in a judicial review of a Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario decision involving the Township of Emo and its mayor, Harold McQuaker.

The case concerns a 2020 vote by Emo council rejecting a request from Borderland Pride to proclaim June as Pride Month and display the LGBTQ2 rainbow flag. In 2024, the Human Rights Tribunal found the vote was discriminatory and ordered Mayor McQuaker and the township to pay the group a total of $15,000 – $5,000 from the mayor personally and $10,000 from the township.

The mayor's personal bank account was later garnished to recover the fine. The CCF will argue that freedom of expression protects the right of mayors to express minority viewpoints in council meetings and to reject proclamations with which they disagree; that the Tribunal was required to recognize the mayor's expressive rights were engaged and to proportionately balance those against the objectives of the Code; and that the Tribunal was required to undertake its proportionate balancing by applying the principles from the 2021 Supreme Court decision in Ward v Quebec.

WHO - Josh Dehaas, CCF Interim Litigation Director
WHEN - Monday, June 15, 2026, 10 a.m. Eastern Time
WHERE - Virtual via Zoom
Passcode: 272607

or in-person at:
Thunder Bay Courthouse
Courtroom 205
125 Brodie Street North
Thunder Bay, Ontario

For further information, contact:
Jessica GoddardDirector of CommunicationsCanadian Constitution Foundation
647-456-1811
jgoddard@theccf.ca

Josh DehaasLitigation Director (Interim)
Canadian Constitution Foundation
1-888-695-9105 x. 104
jdehaas@theccf.ca