The National Capital Commission is suing Corey Hearn for thousands of dollars to cover the cost of repairing the gate he damaged when he broke into the Rideau Hall grounds in the summer of 2020.
According to a statement of claim filed in Ontario Superior Court last week, the NCC – Ottawa’s trustee of official residences – is seeking $350,000 to repair the gate and repair the surrounding property, plus $100,000 in punitive and exemplary damages.
News of the lawsuit was first reported by Frank magazine.
Hurren is serving a six-year sentence plus time served for driving his pickup truck into the front gates of Rideau Hall and crossing the grounds on foot with loaded firearms on July 2, 2020.
The former Canadian Armed Forces reservist — angered by the federal government’s COVID-19 restrictions and its ban on assault-style firearms — told police he wanted to arrest Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who was not home that day.
In its lawsuit, the NCC — which hired law firm Conway Baxter Wilson LLP — said the damage to the Rideau Hall property was caused by Hurren’s negligence.
“Created a dangerous and emergency situation,” the lawsuit said.
“As a result of the collision, the property has sustained significant damage and is in need of significant repair.”
An NCC spokesman would not comment further on the allegation, citing the ongoing court case.
The sentencing judge called it “armed aggression”
Hearn pleaded guilty last year to seven weapons-related charges, including possession of a weapon for “a purpose dangerous to the public peace.”
The Manitoba resident also pleaded guilty to one count of mischief causing damage to the gate of Rideau Hall.
Images from Corey Hurren’s Facebook page. (GrindHouse Fine Foods/Facebook)
The court heard how Hearn, who lost his business during the pandemic and was ineligible for emergency assistance, told the police who arrested him that he felt “betrayed by his government”.
In imposing the sentence, Judge Robert Wodden called the July 2 incident “an armed aggression against the government that must be condemned in the strongest possible terms.”
“Corey Hearn carried out a politically motivated armed attack to intimidate the elected government of Canada,” he said.
Hurren is serving his sentence at Joyceville Institution in Kingston, Ontario.
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