Mark Powell commemorated the anniversary of his wife Regan Russell’s death Wednesday, joining a group of advocates at the spot where she was killed four years ago.
The Hamilton woman died when she was hit by a transport truck on June 19, 2020 while protesting outside Fearmans Pork Inc. in Burlington, as she had done every week for years. She was 65.
Russell and some friends, as part of the activist group Toronto Pig Save, protested controversial provincial legislation that had just passed that hiked fines for trespassing on farms and food-processing facilities.
Powell, and dozens of animal rights advocates — many of whom did not know Russell — gathered outside the farm and threaded flowers through a barbed wire fence, letting drivers in the area know about Russell.
I’ll never forget what happened to Reagan. We’ll never forget Regan, we’ll always honour her.– Mark Powell, husband of Regan Russell
“I’m not going to avoid the place, because it was too important to Regan. That was her cause … and I’ve got to be there to honour her,” Powell told CBC Hamilton.
“It’s just nice to see other people show their support for Regan — people that never met Regan show up. People have now been introduced to the animal rights side of life by virtue of Regan’s death.
“Some of them have taken it a step further and do what Regan did, you know, they show up to what’s called ‘bear witness’ and just hold the sign and draw attention to this place,” Powell added.
At the time of her death, Russell was protesting Bill 156, the Security from Trespass and Protecting Food Safety Act, which came into force just one day before she died.
The bill created “animal protection zones” that prohibit animal rights activists from interfering or interacting with the farm animals in a motor vehicle.
The province enacted the legislation in response to demands from the agricultural industry and about 120 municipal resolutions calling on the government to do more to control trespassing.
Ontario argued the legislation was aimed at “protecting animal safety, biosecurity, and the safety of farmers as well as preventing economic harm that can arise from threats to animal safety and biosecurity.”
Repeal of parts of Bill 156 ‘was a great day’
In April, Ontario Superior Court Justice Markus Koehnen struck down parts of Bill 156 after advocacy group Animal Justice, along with an activist and a journalist, launched a Charter challenge in 2021.
They argued the new law infringed on their freedom of expression because they could not tell the outside world what was happening inside a farm if they gained access to the property through a false pretence.
The act required consent from the owner to be on a property where animals are kept, raised or slaughtered. That consent was voided under the law if someone lied to get on the land.
“When that court decision came that some of that bill was unconstitutional and some of those pieces of that Bill 156 were struck down by Superior Court, that was a great day because the Regan Russell Foundation had a part to play in that,” Powell said.
The Regan Russell Foundation was built to continue Russell’s activism beyond her death, according to the foundation’s Facebook page. “We aim to support the battle against Bill 156 — the battle which Regan died fighting,” reads the intro on the page.
Russell’s stepson, Josh Powell, said the Superior Court’s decision “validated” his stepmother.
“We’ve hopefully done justice to her feelings in taking part in that conversation, but the larger fact that it was successful absolutely validated her, the reason she was there,” he said.
“She wasn’t standing there that day just for the animal rights, she was standing up for those people’s rights and she absolutely had a reason to stand there because part of this bill was overturned.”
The Ministry of the Attorney General said it is reviewing the decision and has not yet decided if it will appeal.
On March 27 last year, a truck driver pleaded guilty to careless driving causing Russell’s death. Andrew Blake appeared by video before an Ontario court and pleaded guilty to the provincial offence. He was fined $2,000 and given 12-months of probation.
Halton police charged Blake with careless driving causing death — a non-criminal provincial offence — because investigators said he did not have criminal intent.
Josh Powell said the family is still trying to get the truth about what happened the day Russell died.
“We’re still investigating this. We’re still trying to get the truth about what happened to our loved one this many years later because our police, the Halton police, the Halton Crown and that entire jurisdiction just completely cut the ball and accepted a lie,” he said.
Lawsuit ongoing
Four months after Russell’s death, her husband filed a $5-million lawsuit. Blake, the trucking company Brussels Transport, and Sofina Foods, the company that owns Fearmans Pork processing plant, are among those named in the suit. The claim alleges negligence on their parts led to her death.
The claim alleges Blake failed to keep a proper lookout and made an unsafe and improper turn. It also alleges Brussels Transport failed to take steps to ensure the driver was competent and that Sofina failed to provide safety for pedestrians around Fearmans.
On Sunday the family told CBC Hamilton that the lawsuit is ongoing.
“I’ll never forget what happened to Reagan. We’ll never forget Reagan, we’ll always honour her,” Mark Powell said.