N.B. convoy donor named as defendant in proposed class action lawsuit
Brad Howland donated $75,000 to the Freedom Convoy last winter
A New Brunswick business owner who was one of the largest financial donors to the Freedom Convoy has been named as a defendant in a class action lawsuit against the convoy organizers.
Brad Howland, who lives in Kars, N.B., and owns Easy Kleen Pressure Systems Ltd. based in Sussex Corner, donated $75,000 to the Freedom Convoy that paralyzed downtown Ottawa last winter.
The class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of downtown Ottawa residents, businesses and employees who say the convoy disrupted their lives.
James Manson, a lawyer for Howland and other potential defendants, argued against the motion to add Howland at a hearing in January.
In his motion, he argued that it's unreasonable to try to sue "thousands of random people around the world who merely donated money to a political cause."
Ontario regional senior justice Calum MacLeod, in his decision dated March 13, allowed the addition of the new defendants, as well as the plaintiff's motion to expand the "occupation zone", the geographic area encompassing the plaintiff cases.
"Extension of such liability to those who continued to donate funds once the nature of the activity in Ottawa became apparent may be novel but it is not impossible of success," MacLeod wrote in the decision.
MacLeod also wrote that whether or not liability could be extended to a class of donors was not an analysis that should be done at the pleading stage.
Paul Champ, the lawyer behind the proposed class action suit, confirmed by email that the amended claim was served on Howland's legal counsel on March 14.
Neither Howland nor his lawyer responded when asked for comment on these filings.
Champ told CBC Ottawa that his team will be ready to argue for certification in the case by the end of the year.
The proposed suit is seeking a total of $290 million in general, special and punitive damages from all of the defendants, which include several high-profile leaders of the movement.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
With files from Jacques Poitras and CBC Ottawa
$300M class action convoy lawsuit amended to add defendants, expand 'occupation zone'
3,000 residents added to plaintiff class, lawyer says
The lawyers representing Ottawa residents in the proposed $300 million class-action lawsuit against organizers of the convoy protest last year have added new defendants and expanded the "occupation zone," the geographic area encompassing the plaintiff classes.
Fundraising platform GiveSendGo, New Brunswick donor Brad Howland and Harold Jonker of Jonker Trucking Inc., have been added as named defendants.
None of the defendants added to the claim were immediately available for comment.
The area in Ottawa containing the plaintiff classes — residents, businesses and employees — has been expanded after a "large number" of residents came forward, said Paul Champ, the lawyer behind the proposed class action suit.
The zone now extends west past Bronson Avenue to Booth Street to include residential buildings on a developed section of LeBreton Flats.
In the ByWard Market, it now includes the area north of St. Patrick Street all the way to Boteler Street.
The shaded areas on the map show the new additions to the 'occupation zone' containing the plaintiff classes. (Simon Smith/CBC)
Champ estimates the expanded zone adds about 3,000 people to the plaintiff class, bringing the number to around 15,000.
He said he expects "the damages will end up going up" because the number of plaintiffs has increased.
According to Champ, everyone in the zone is automatically part of the class and doesn't need to provide their names. In the event of a settlement or an award in the case, his firm will contact people and advertise.
All in a Day 8:18 Testimony during Ottawa People's Commission
Gaëlle Muderi, project co-ordinator for the Ottawa People's Commission, said they heard testimony from residents of the newly added area during their inquiry into the protests.
"The impact of the convoy extended beyond the red zone, from Lowertown to Vanier to Overbrook. So people in those communities experienced trauma, loss and harm," she said.
"These communities were deeply affected, and I think this is a move in recognition of that."
Muderi said the expanded class reflects the scope of issues residents had to deal with during the protests.
"People lost income because they couldn't get to their jobs or they had to spend in different ways to access basic necessities," she said.
"In that sense, it includes more folks. It opens up the opportunity for more folks to be heard."
Lawyer heard from 1,000 Ottawa residents
Champ said his team will be ready to argue for certification in the case by the end of the year, calling those motions "a significant point in the litigation."
"The vast majority of class actions are fought over the certification and if the class action is certified, you will often see defendants settle," he said.
Champ said his team has spoken with about 1,000 people.
"We've got really all the information and evidence that we need to establish damages and establish the harm that was caused."
Champ said this is another step in vindicating his clients.
"It seems like the convoy occupation protesters thought that they only caused people an inconvenience without recognizing that they, you know, seriously disrupted the lives of people who were really just innocent bystanders," he said.
N.B. convoy donor fighting motion to name him in lawsuit
Brad Howland and other donors ‘emboldened and incited’ protests, lawyer argues
Brad Howland, who gave $75,000 to the convoy that paralyzed downtown Ottawa last winter, is named in a motion to designate him as the representative of everyone who gave money to support the protest.
It's part of a broader class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of downtown Ottawa residents, businesses and employees who say the convoy disrupted their lives.
The suit wants the Ontario Superior Court of Justice to add Howland on behalf of a "donor class" of defendants.
Those who donated money online did so 'with the intention of encouraging and facilitating those acts,' lawyer Paul Champ argues in his motion. The motion will be heard in court in Ottawa Jan. 24-25. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)
The motion says Howland and other donors "knew or ought to have known" that the Freedom Convoy protesters were breaking the law and disrupting the lives of residents and workers in the downtown by blasting their truck horns and spewing diesel fumes.
Those who donated money online did so "with the intention of encouraging and facilitating those acts," lawyer Paul Champ argues in his motion.
The motion will be heard in court in Ottawa Jan. 24-25.
The allegations have not been proven in court, and James Manson, a lawyer for Howland and other potential defendants, argues that the lawsuit and the attempt to add Howland are not backed up by any evidence about specific defendants.
"The plaintiffs have, in fact, improperly sued a crowd of people without identifying who was in the crowd, or which people did what things," his motion says.
Manson argues it's unreasonable to try to sue "thousands of random people around the world who merely donated money to a political cause."
Each individual donor's personal reasons for donating to the Freedom Convoy would have to be examined, he said.
"That would be impossible."
The convoy began parking trucks in downtown Ottawa last Jan. 28, and the protest continued until police broke it up on Feb. 19-20.
Most participants wanted the federal government to end vaccine mandates for truckers, though some also called for the removal of the Trudeau government from power.
Brad Howland, who lives in Kars, owns Easy Kleen Pressure Systems Ltd. based in Sussex Corner. The businessman was identified as the second-largest donor to the convoy in leaked data from the online fundraising site GiveSendGo. (Roger Cosman/CBC)
Howland, who lives in Kars and owns Easy Kleen Pressure Systems Ltd. based in Sussex Corner, was identified as the second-largest donor to the convoy in leaked data from the online fundraising site GiveSendGo.
He travelled to Ottawa to "participate" in the convoy on Feb. 11-12, according to the motion by the plaintiffs.
Howland confirmed in a statement to CBC News last year that he had been to the protest and called it "a beautiful, legal, peaceful protest that overwhelmed us with emotion."
The business owner said his company relied on truckers, and it was important to support them.
"Our company and my family are proud to stand with these men and women as they uphold the Charter of Rights and Freedoms of our great nation," he said.
Howland's assistant said in an email Thursday he was not available to comment on the court filings.
Champ argues in his motion that financial donations such as Howland's "emboldened and incited" convoy participants as they made "as much noise as possible to cause discomfort and distress" for local residents "in order to coerce political leaders."
But Manson calls the claim "both ridiculous and incapable of proof.
"There is quite simply no way for the plaintiffs to ever demonstrate that all of the people who donated funds to the 'Freedom Convoy' protest 'knew or ought to have known' that those funds" would be used to fund wrongful actions, he argues.
Champ is seeking a total of $290 million in general, special and punitive damages from all of the defendants, which include several high-profile leaders of the movement.
Champ says in his motion that Howland's company, Easy Kleen, has a 7,400-square-metre manufacturing plant and 165 employees. It operates seven offices across Canada and ships equipment worldwide.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
N.B. business owner says he donated $75,000 to Freedom Convoy
A database released publicly lists Brad Howland's donation as the second-highest amount
In a written statement Monday afternoon, Brad Howland, president of the pressure-washing company Easy Kleen, called the protest "a beautiful, legal, peaceful protest," which he visited on the weekend.
"To see the love, peace, and unity that many of us have longed for, for a long time — It was an experience of a lifetime," he wrote.
"This will go down in the history books of our nation."
In fact, the protest has forced many downtown businesses to close and violates several laws.
It's now the subject of the federal Emergencies Act, which Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked on Monday.
CBC News has reviewed information that appears to identify tens of thousands of Freedom Convoy donors to the website GiveSendGo.
The data, hacked and released briefly on its front page, includes names, locations, dollar amounts, personal email addresses, even the credit card companies used for each transaction.
CBC has not been able to independently confirm if the people on the list did in fact donate to the Freedom Convoy.
Howland confirmed to CBC News that his donation was $75,000.
A database from GiveSendGo released publicly lists that as the second-highest amount of all donations.
A sign supporting truckers was visible at Easy Kleen's property near a Highway 1 off-ramp earlier this month.
Howland said in his statement that Easy Kleen has been in business for more than 40 years and has relied on truckers for deliveries to and from the factory.
Brad Howland says in his statement that Easy Kleen has been in business in the Sussex area of southern New Brunswick for more than 40 years and has relied on truckers for deliveries to and from the factory. (Roger Cosman/CBC)
He called truckers "salt of the earth people with the biggest hearts" and said the convoy is a rare opportunity to thank them.
"We are thankful to be blessed enough to support their efforts to do what they have to do in a peaceful way until the government removes the mandates to restore all our freedom as pre-COVID," he said.
Records from the federal government show that Easy Kleen has received funding from the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy program, set up to help employers who have "seen a drop in revenue during the COVID-19 pandemic."
It's not clear how much the company received, but when asked about the subsidy, Howland said it was spent on wages at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020.
Howland has also donated thousands of dollars to the provincial Progressive Conservatives and the federal Conservative Party since 2018, according to public records.
Distrust of vaccines
On Facebook, Howland has posted support for former U.S. president Donald Trump and about his distrust of vaccines.
"They say the Democrats are worried about outside interference in USA elections," he wrote in August 2020, in a post that was no longer public as of Monday afternoon. "They should be, from the country of Lowest of Kars we are doing just that."
On Feb. 11, Howland posted that "a truck load of us" from Kars, a community about 50 kilometres from Sussex, would be heading to Ottawa.
"It is about time we act like we own it and show them who calls the shoots [sic] and determines mandates," Howland wrote on Jan. 25, in a post that is also no longer public. "That is the people. Governments got people in fear."
WATCH | More than half of convoy donations came from U.S., hacked data shows:
More than half of convoy donations came from U.S., hacked data shows
In 2009, Howland received a conditional discharge after he threatened the principal of a New Brunswick elementary school when they stopped daily singing of O Canada.
CBC reported at the time that Howland threatened to beat the principal senseless, but Howland said he meant it as a figure of speech rather than a threat.
"Other provinces adopted playing the anthem because of this situation in my life arose, which worked out very well in the end for thousands for children playing the anthem in their schools," Howland wrote to CBC when asked about the court case this week.
In total, the database shows donations from more than 500 people who used New Brunswick postal codes, but CBC cannot verify whether those individuals actually live in the province.