@fatraccoon.bsky.social:
I hope this is the last we hear of Adam Skelly. Defying pandemic restrictions because you don’t like them is no excuse for putting people in harm’s way.
@danparadis.bsky.social:
The only bright spot in my last week has been that the Adamson BBQ guy lost in court again
Mark:
Good Decision. Canada’s management of the Pandemic resulted in the lowest per capita deaths, and infections among Western-World Nations. A free society must have guardrails in place with respect to how individuals interact, engage, and contact each other. Otherwise it is a false freedom.
Cheryl:
You cannot operate a food business without a license. If the owner had bothered to do this in the first place perhaps things might have been different…but then we know from his actions he never cared much for food safety or anything else for that matter.
Jane:
Every citizen was under Covid restrictions mandatory mandates in Ontario.. some followed the law, some did not..and as we’ve seen, these cases of those that reject Covid restrictions, have all lost their cases in Courts..including nurse’s that where let go from their jobs for not following the Vaccine mandates the Hospitals imposed on them.
It’s funny that some of these posters have a real issue with this one business being shutdown..without even having the realization that the Freedom Convoy shutdown multiple business in Ottawa, costing them multi millions of dollars in revenue, just when these covid restrictions was being lifted by Premier Doug Ford in Ontario..the only requirement to enter business was to wear a mask. Which these Convoy refused to do forcing Business in Ottawa to shut their doors as they where following the Law that was put into place..
Can’t wait , for the civil lawsuit to happen in Ottawa, which a judges just ruled in favor for this Civil suite to proceed..multiple Businesses, including the Rideau Mall, Lord elgin, Chateau Lauriea, and other Businesses, and citzens are sueing these Convoy occupation Organizers over 150, million dollars of lost revenue, and the citzens are involved in suing them that these organizers ignored Court orders, and caused disruption in their ability to live a normal life.
Adamson Barbeque owner loses COVID-19 Charter challenge. Shutting restaurant during lockdown not a ‘seizure,’ judge says by Ben Cohen, Mar 20, 2026, Toronto Star
Adam Skelly’s Adamson Barbeque was at the centre of a three-day standoff that became a focal point of anti-lockdown protests.
Pitmaster Adam Skelly has failed to convince a judge that the government violated his constitutional rights by shutting down his restaurant during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Superior Court Justice Janet Leiper dismissed Skelly’s case this week, writing in her decision that the city and province acted appropriately in order to protect the public from “serious risk of illness, hospitalization, and death.”
In November 2020, health experts believed the risk of hospitals being overwhelmed with COVID patients was “imminent.” In Toronto, hundreds of people were getting infected every day, more than 1,000 had already died, and there was no vaccine yet. In response, Premier Doug Ford tightened pandemic restrictions, banning even patio dining at restaurants.
On the first day the new orders went into effect, Skelly announced on social media that his restaurant, Adamson Barbeque, would defy them, sparking a three-day standoff during which anti-lockdown activists clashed with police.
In the end, Skelly’s business was forcibly shuttered, and he was charged with mischief and obstructing a police officer. He was later sued by the city for $187,000 in policing costs.
A year later, he decided to permanently close his two Toronto restaurants, telling the Star at the time he was doing it because he felt the government was “discriminating against a segment of society” and he saw no end to the injustice. He’s since moved to Alberta.
where the numble nut will fit right in.
Skelly argued in his submissions that the lockdown “unreasonably prejudiced” small businesses. His restaurant, for example, offered Texas-style barbeque fare best enjoyed at large tables. Reopening it was an act of civil disobedience, he said, against baseless, overly restrictive legislation without “any proven health justification.”JFC, what a cruel piece of shit. Many thousands died, many hundreds of thousands seriously sickened with permanent harms. Even those that were asymptomatic likely have permanent brain and other organ damage.
The large police response was “disproportionate” and contravened his Charter right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, he contended.
Leiper ruled that the public health benefits of closing Adamson Barbeque down during his protest “outweigh the deleterious effects” on the business. She noted that the province gave him a chance to comply before calling the police.
This was not a “seizure” of his property, as Skelly claimed in the court filing, Leiper wrote, and did not infringe on any of his rights.
The judge went on to say that Skelly could have found alternative, legal ways of protesting the lockdown. For instance, he could have staged an outdoor demonstration at the restaurant as there was no legislation limiting outdoor gatherings at the time.
To Leiper, if society were to permit the kind of protest Skelly engaged in, safety regulations would become meaningless.
Skelly’s reasoning, that it “restricts expression” to punish someone for breaking laws they disagree with, could also apply to rules around construction sites, the safe operation of motor vehicles and food sanitation measures, she wrote.
Skelly and his lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Refer also to:
@jmcrookston.bsky.social Nov 18, 2024:
Looks like Adamson Barbeque was not ultimately able to make its constitutional arguments to the court even after extensions. Paid $30,000 in costs of two wasted motions (2021 ONSC 4924 and 2022 ONSC 726).
Crowdfunded $300,000, some of which went to criminal proceedings and the rest civil, I guess. toronto.citynews.ca/2021/02/22/t…
Doesn’t seem like it was going to succeed. Mr. Skelly didn’t attend cross-examination, then when he did, didn’t answer questions (footnote in 2021 ONSC 4660).
Adamson was represented by Elders Without Borders, a non-profit which conducts legal actions. Never heard of it, or its founder, Michael Swindale, before. They have brought a COVID-19 class action which is under appeal, which probably means certification was denied by the Court.
All decisions, in chronological order: www.canlii.org/en/on/onsc/d…
