Charges against anti-masker withdrawn

Mitchell Noel Albert, 25, had been arrested at Fredericton city hall at pandemic protest

A Kintore man set to stand trial Tuesday on criminal charges stemming from his opposition to precautionary COVID-19 directives saw those allegations dropped instead.

Mitchell Noel Albert, 25, of Kintore, near Perth-Andover, was charged with obstructing a city police officer at a protest at Fredericton hall against pandemic mandates Jan. 22, 2022, and later with failing to attend court when he refused to don a mask for a scheduled appearance April 22, 2022.

The matter was to proceed to trial in Fredericton provincial court Tuesday after several adjournments, some stemming from the fact that documents provided to the defence as part of the disclosure process had been heavily redacted.

Mitchell Noel Albert (Photo: Don MacPherson/The Fredericton Independent)

But when Judge Cameron Gunn called the case Tuesday, prosecutor Rebecca Butler said the Crown was moving to withdraw both charges.

But Albert seemed intent on having his day in court.

He said if the withdrawal was the result of the case going beyond the 18-month time limit for provincial court cases as set out in a key Supreme Court of Canada case, he said he was willing to waive that Charter right to a speedy trial.

Butler said the Crown wasn’t required to offer an explanation for its motion and let it stand on its own.

Gunn granted the motion and told the defendant he was free to go.

The courtroom was filled with supporters from the local anti-mandate and sovereign-citizens’ movements. 

“It doesn’t mean you can’t get them for malicious prosecution, Mitchell,” Ivan Finton Hall, one of the leaders of the group, called out from the gallery.

The group rose and applauded, declaring victory in an ongoing crusade against government mandates, which are no longer in place.

The no-show charge flowed from Albert’s refusal to co-operate with courthouse officials. Provincial court Judge Kenneth Oliver had insisted those attending court wear a facemask, and Albert had refused. Oliver was still insisting on masking in his court even after government mandates had been lifted in March 2022.

Albert and Sean Patrick Kenney, another protester against pandemic mandates, filed a small-claim lawsuit against Oliver last year over his treatment of them and others in the movement in his courtroom.

The small-claims adjudicator dismissed their case, finding it was barred by statute. The Provincial Court Act prohibits such lawsuits against judges for actions from the bench to ensure judicial impartiality.

A Court of King’s Bench judge dismissed an appeal of the adjudicator’s decision, and the New Brunswick Court of Appeal subsequently declined to grant leave to appeal it further.

Albert vowed to appeal that latter decision to the Supreme Court of Canada, but as of Tuesday, a search of the top court online case database doesn’t show anything has been filed there.

Don MacPherson can be contacted at ftonindependent@gmail.com.