Toronto woman, 89, pleads not guilty in census-protest case

Colin Perkel ctvnews.ca TORONTO -- A defiant, diminutive octogenarian pleaded not guilty Thursday to criminal charges arising out of her refusal to fill out the 2011 census, and said she would not pay any fine if convicted. Audrey Tobias, 89, told Ontario court she agreed with the aims of the census, but objected to the involvement of American arms behemoth, Lockheed Martin. "When I learned that the contract for the information technology was being given to a foreign company, I was shocked," Tobias testified. 89-year-old Audrey Tobias speaks with CTV News before appearing in court in Toronto, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2013. "I am ashamed of my prime minister in Canada who ultimately made the decision. Because of that, I couldn't fill it in." Tobias, of Toronto, is charged with violating the Statistics Act. The defence maintained that forcing her to complete the census would violate her freedoms of conscience and free expression. Judge Ramez Khawly was clearly skeptical as lawyer Peter Rosenthal made his arguments, and wondered aloud what would happen if the court sent a "signal" that it was OK to opt out of the census. The Crown said Tobias had no lawful excuse for her refusal. Tobias said she was unconcerned about the consequences of a conviction, which carries a maximum three months in prison. "I'm not worried; we'll take it as it comes," she said during a break in the proceedings. "Of course, I would not pay (a) fine -- that would be an admission of guilt." She said she would not do any community service for the same reason. to read more click here: ctvnews.ca