Anti-masker suing after being removed from Kelowna City Hall

A Kelowna man is suing the City of Kelowna after he was prevented from disputing a parking ticket because he refused to wear a mask.

In a notice of claim filed in B.C. Supreme Court May 12, Brian Rogers says he was escorted out of Kelowna City Hall after he refused to put on a mask.

The court document says Rogers received a parking ticket for an expired meter in September 2021 and disputed his ticket.

However, when he arrived at City Hall several months later to contest the ticket, he refused to wear a mask.

"The petitioner has the absolute, constitutional, and fundamental right… for unrestricted access to all courts and places for adversarial hearings against him by the government, including the City of Kelowna and including for his hearing of his dispute," the notice of claim reads.

"The forced compulsion of wearing a mask in order to be heard prior to judgement, is a restriction on the petitioner's rights."

Kelowna resident Brian Rogers ran for the People's Party of Canada Kelowna—Lake Country riding in the 2021 federal election. It's unclear if he's the same man who filed the suit.

According to the court document, the adjudicator in Rogers' case walked into the council's chambers without wearing a mask.

Rogers followed the same route but was then stopped by three Commissionaires.

He then demanded to see their ID but they all refused.

Rogers refers to them as "alleged" Commissionaires in the court documents.

"There is a violation of the petitioner's equality rights (under) the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, where the adjudicator was present in City Hall without a mask, entered the council chambers without a mask, and (Rogers) was denied entry for his very reason," the court document reads.

After Rogers was escorted outside for not wearing a mask, his hearing started and because he was not there to argue his case, he was found guilty.

The City of Kelowna has not yet responded to the claim. None of the allegations have been proven in court.

Rogers did not return our calls for comment.

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