With the Crown's withdrawal of the final charge, the Toronto Charter auditor now stands fully vindicated, with every charge against him having been dropped.
TORONTO: The Democracy Fund (TDF) is pleased to announce that on September 1, 2026, the Crown withdrew a charge of criminal harassment under s.264 of the Criminal Code against a Toronto-based Charter auditor. With this withdrawal, every criminal charge the client faced has now been dropped.
The Crown withdrew the charge only after numerous pre-trials, court appearances, three successive Crown attorneys assigned to the file, and extensive negotiations by TDF's legal team. It ends more than fourteen months of prosecution for the client.
The charge arose from recording and publishing video of police officers carrying out their duties in public. It followed an earlier victory on June 22, 2026, where TDF lawyers secured the withdrawal of two related charges of obstructing a peace officer under section 129 of the Criminal Code. Those charges were laid after the client peacefully filmed police activity from public property in February 2025.
Recording police in public is not a crime. It is protected by the Charter under section 2(b), and it serves the important public interest of transparency and accountability. This is particularly important when considering the use and abuse of state power. As with all of our clients, TDF defends the principle that constitutional rights must not be unreasonably infringed. This prevents the state from contending that bureaucrats may decide when and to whom Charter rights apply.
The Charter protects not only popular or comfortable expression; its purpose is to protect expression others find controversial or inflammatory.
Adam Blake-Gallipeau, Litigation Director at The Democracy Fund, commented:
"This is a complete vindication. Our client did what every person in this country has the right to do: record public officials, performing public duties, in a public place. For this, he spent well over a year in criminal jeopardy. It took three different Crowns and months of hard-fought negotiations to arrive at the right result: every charge has been withdrawn. Peaceful police auditing is protected in this country. You don't have to like the message to defend the right. The principle is not to be applied selectively."
Following the withdrawal, the client stated:
“I want to sincerely thank Adam Blake-Gallipeau and The Democracy Fund for standing beside me throughout this case. Adam’s professionalism, experience and commitment to protecting my rights gave me confidence throughout a very difficult process. Having strong legal representation matters, especially when a case raises important questions about civil liberties and freedom of expression. I am extremely grateful to Adam and The Democracy Fund for the work they have done."
About The Democracy Fund:
Founded in 2021, The Democracy Fund (TDF) is a Canadian charity dedicated to defending constitutional rights, promoting free speech and religious freedom, and opposing religious discrimination. TDF advances these principles through litigation, public education, educational initiatives, and access-to-justice programs for Canadians whose civil liberties have been infringed.