Anti-lockdown rally in Waterloo draws hundreds

— Hundreds of antilockdown protesters crowded the square in uptown Waterloo on Sunday.

It was the fourth weekend in a row that these protests have been held in the city.

Speakers at Sunday’s No More Lockdown rally included Randy Hillier, who is an independent MPP for Lanark-Frontenac-Kingston, and Jacob Reaume, pastor of Trinity Bible Chapel in Woolwich Township.

With a microphone in one hand and a Bible in the other, Reaume said he has been a pastor in the area for nearly 12 years and that his church is “in a lot of trouble legally.”

“Do you want to know what it was we did?” he asked the crowd. “I opened the church on the Lord’s Day.”

Reaume’s church has repeatedly violated COVID-19 restrictions and gathering limits to hold in-person religious services and is facing more than 40 charges in relation to pandemic restrictions.

In late April, a judge ordered the church doors be locked for a week to prevent in-person services from taking place. The order was issued after a judge found the church, its pastors and elders, in contempt of prior court orders after in-person church services were held. That order has since been extended and the doors remain locked.

Hillier posted on Twitter in late January indicating he had attended a church service at Trinity Bible Chapel. He also posted a photo of people inside showing many sitting close together and not wearing masks.

Hillier has been attending No More Lockdown rallies across the province and other media outlets report he is facing charges for participation.

During Reaume’s speech at the rally, the pastor pointed out the police presence across the street. The crowd booed.

He also called regional chair Karen Redman and medical officer of health Hsiu-Li Wang “terrible human beings.”

Rally-goers weren’t wearing masks or physical distancing. Some waved Canadian flags and some carried signs reading: “Facts over fear.” “Media is the virus. Compliance is the pandemic. Critical thinking is the cure.”

“Communism, you masked for it.”

“No more lockdowns.” Ontario has been under a stayat-home order since April 8, to help reduce the spread of the virus.

Waterloo Regional Police had its COVID Integrated Response Team at the event to monitor and “to ensure public safety.” Officers could be seen on the periphery of the protest, in the front doors of the Waterloo Town Square mall and in the parking garage across the street.

Police said they would be working with regional bylaw officers to gather potential evidence to help in the laying of charges under the Reopening Ontario Act.