Witness Testimony

Tamara Ugolini testified that in early spring 2020 she was approached by police while at Pebble Beach in Cobourg with her children during outdoor gathering restrictions. Later, after repeated municipal closures of beaches and green spaces that she believed exceeded provincial guidelines, she researched property boundaries and determined that portions of shoreline and adjacent water were not owned by the municipality. In June 2020 she intentionally walked the shoreline in what she described as an act of civil disobedience. She refused to identify herself to receive an $880 COVID-related trespass fine, was arrested, handcuffed, detained, fingerprinted, and held in a jail cell for approximately ninety minutes.
Ugolini testified that her family had launched a hydrovac excavation business in late 2019 after remortgaging their home and consolidating debt under a five-year financial plan. In April 2020, provincial construction restrictions halted subcontracted work, eliminating revenue while overhead costs remained approximately $20,000 per month. By June 2020 they were forced to surrender a half-million-dollar rent-to-own vehicle and close the business. She stated they were ineligible for government business grants because they lacked a full year of tax returns and described ripple effects on other workers and commission-based suppliers.
Her husband later secured employment in the same industry but was terminated in October 2021 after refusing to disclose his vaccination status. She testified that his Record of Employment listed noncompliance with a workplace safety policy, making him ineligible for government assistance. As a result, she returned to full-time work while caring for a newborn and multiple children, and the family withdrew their children from private Montessori schooling due to financial strain. She concluded that the economic and social consequences of pandemic policies continue to affect their family’s stability and childcare security.