Dominique St-Jean has organized a peaceful demonstration in Sturgeon Falls Sunday morning to voice concerns about “non-consensual” COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, non-voluntary mask use and vaccinations.
St-Jean, 29, said the group is called West Nipissing for Our Rights in support of a large protest convoy planned in Ottawa on the same day. About a dozen vehicles are expected.
“I strongly believe we speak for many Canadians along with citizens worldwide, that I've had enough with these non-consensual lockdowns causing more harm than good,” he said in an interview Thursday.
“These unlawful restrictions have significantly affected our communities negatively in the areas of mental health, addictions, overdoses, permanent small business closures and the deterioration of our children's future.”
“A lot of us are people that are not able to travel all the way to Ottawa as much as we would love to participate, we might in the future heading down to parliament,” he said. “We're basically offering this demonstration to the public, you could say, as a peaceful protest while still following more or less the lockdown guidelines so that we don't incur any infractions.”
St-Jean wanted to clarify what they are trying to accomplish.
“We are pro-choice as our group. I mean, we're not anti-maskers, or anti-vaccine … but we are pro-choice and we are pro informed consent,” St-Jean explained. “You know, we agree that people can make the choice, but they should also have an informed consent.”
They are against the forced lockdowns, though.
“We do kind of say no to lockdown's due to the effects they have on psychological, mental and emotional health on humans,” he said.
St-Jean, who has a medical exemption so he can legally not wear a mask, was given a fine from the OPP January 20 when trying to shop for groceries at No Frills in Sturgeon Falls. He is going to fight the charge and if convicted, St-Jean said a lawyer and an alternative media platform have said they’ll help him launch a complaint to the Ontario Human Rights Commission.
“We have had enough with the targeted alienation and discrimination directed towards citizens who simply cannot or choose to not wear a mask or face covering,” he said. “These mask mandates are simply a recommendation and act. They are not law.
“The Trespass Act does not apply when individuals are practicing mask exemptions,” he said, referring to his belief store owners can’t deny someone access to essential goods.
St-Jean, a single father of a four-year-old daughter, said it’s been difficult this year for him and others to get sufficient employment despite having skilled trades certificates, police foundations diploma and small business ownership experience.
He also believes many of the conspiracy theories about there being ulterior motives for the pandemic restrictions with inflated statistics and risks not reflecting the reality of the virus.
He suggested people research the issues about the tests, what the results mean, how vaccines are made and reactions to them as well as the health risks of wearing masks.
“We all want to live our lives,” he said. “We seek to spread and share kindness and awareness. We are pro-choice. We advocate for informed consent.”
Editorial Note: BayToday purposely did not include the people, groups and websites St-Jean suggested for people to follow for information. The veracity of the statements being made by the individuals he offered as sources could not be verified. Readers are welcome to contact him via Facebook.
Dave Dale is a Local Journalism Reporter with BayToday.ca. LJI is funded by the Government of Canada.
