On Monday, March 27/23, at 10:00 am. the Halton Court in Burlington will be holding a plea hearing for Andrew Blake, of Brussels Transport Ltd. Blake was charged with one count of careless driving causing death under the Highway Traffic Act. Animal rights activist Regan Russell was struck and killed on June 19, 2020, by a pig transport truck after a Toronto Pig Save vigil in front of Fearmans Pork Inc. pig slaughterhouse in Burlington, Ontario.
Bill Russell, father of Regan Russell, in an Opinion Piece published in the Hamilton Spectator on Sunday, March 19th, 2023, wrote, “We believe our darling Regan’s violent death is worthy of a more detailed, meticulous, intensive investigation than what culminated as a mere moment of “careless driving.”
“We hope that the prosecution and courts take seriously that the driver’s activity poses a threat to legitimate protest and hope that the justice system addresses this in considering his case,” says Lori Croonen, a witness on the day Regan died. “Even though this is an offense under the Highways Traffic Act this should not diminish the impact Blake has had on Regan’s family in particular who supported her activism and the animal rights community at large.”
Animal rights activists in Canada and worldwide feel saddened but are inspired and energized even more to continue to engage in this form of expression.
Vigils will be held worldwide on Monday, March 27/23 to honour her legacy. “Regan died doing what she most cared about. The justice we want are more systemic changes, not just to punish the pig transport truck driver. This is an opportunity to remember her legacy by holding worldwide vigils and also address systemic issues that led to the unsafe environment that resulted in this tragedy,” says Anita Krajnc, co-founder of Toronto Pig Save.
Schedule of events for March 27/23
7:30–8 am
Location: Harvester Road, just North of Appleby Line, Burlington, ON
Banner drop at the bridge over Highway 401
8:15-noon
Location: Halton Court, 4085 Palladium Way, Burlington, ON
Courthouse vigil outside the courthouse
8.45 am
Bill and Pat Russell, Regan’s parents and Shannon Fromm, Regan’s sister, submit victim impact statements to Halton Court.
10 am
Plea hearing for Andrew Blake, truck driver of Brussels Transport Ltd
Background:
Regan Russell, aged 65 was a decades-long pioneer in Canadian animal rights activism who had peacefully campaigned on behalf of non-human animals for over 40 years. On June 19, 2020, she was violently struck and killed by a transport truck carrying pigs entering Sofina’s Fearmans slaughterhouse in Burlington, Ontario. She was attending a special pig vigil with Toronto Pig Save to protest Bill 156, which had passed the previous day and to bear witness to some of the 10,000 sentient beings who are killed there each day.
