Witness Testimony

Lily Monier, a self-employed court transcription specialist with legal training and crisis intervention experience, testified that she initially accepted COVID-19 measures but began questioning them after reading Bill 61, which allowed indefinite renewal of the state of emergency. Viewing this as governmental overreach, she organized and spoke at peaceful demonstrations in her village and elsewhere. She described grounding her actions in principles of civil disobedience inspired by figures such as Gandhi and Rosa Parks, asserting that citizens have a duty to resist laws they consider unjust.
Monier recounted personally invoking mask exemption language contained in government decrees, challenging enforcement practices at local businesses, and providing guidance to others seeking to assert what she viewed as their fundamental rights. She participated in numerous demonstrations, which she characterized as peaceful and family-oriented, while alleging instances of unnecessary police force, including elderly individuals being handcuffed or removed despite non-resistance. She encouraged demonstrators to document badge numbers and file police ethics complaints.
She further testified that she received frequent distress calls from individuals facing job loss, social stigma, or psychological crisis related to mandates, including a case involving suicidal ideation linked to trauma and mask requirements. Through the Fondation pour la défense des droits et libertés du peuple, she became a plaintiff in a judicial review application seeking annulment of emergency decrees and examination of their compliance with the Charter and the Oakes test. She concluded that civil disobedience, legal action, and public testimony are necessary democratic tools to challenge what she perceives as disproportionate and anxiety-inducing governance.