Oriena Rejola Currie, R.I.P.

August 6, 2007 permalink

Oriena Currie, a board member of Canada Court Watch, has passed away.

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In memory of Oriena Rejola Currie

Canada Court Watch executive, Oriena Currie, passes away at 72 years of age

Sadly, on Sunday, July 22, 2007, Canada Court Watch advocate, Oriena Rejola Currie, 72 years of age, passed away in hospital after losing her final battle with cancer.

To her many friends and associates with whom she had become involved in over the years during her political advocacy and as an executive director of Canada Court Watch, she will be greatly missed.

She is survived by her son, Charles, her daughter, Bonnie, and five grandchildren, Chatham, Cauthen, Quen , Caegan and Kitsym.

Oriena was one of the most respected and senior member of Canada Court Watch, having served on its Board of Directors for a number of years.

Up until her final battle with cancer she proudly stood up for freedom, justice and democracy which were the issues she strongly believed in and fought fearlessly for those beliefs.

Oriena was born November 23, 1934 in Toronto, Ontario. She grew up as a young child in the Cabbagetown community of Toronto and in her teenage years lived in the Mississauga area.

In her later years, Oriena resided in Campbellville, a small community situated on the beautiful Niagara Escarpment close to Milton, Ontario.

She operated a family owned flea market from a small commercial building located on her family's properly on Guelph Line at the southern outskirts of her community.

Most Saturdays and Sundays she could be found at her flea market with her grandchildren close at hand.

Outside of her time spent with her family members and running the family business, Oriena was a powerhouse, devoting much of her knowledge and experience to provide helpful advice to others experiencing problems with the courts and lawyers.

People from all over called Oriena by phone for help with their court related problems with many finding much needed information and support that they were unable to obtain or afford from professionals in legal community.

Oriena stated that advocating for fairness, justice and most all accountability had been a passion and a driving force during most of her life.

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Oriena at the Barrie, Ontario rally in 2006 wearing the T shirt which caused court workers to label her and other justice minded Canadian citizens as "gang" members.

She often attended meetings, protests and events in the community designed to bring attention to the plight of those involved with the court system.

Last year in Barrie, Oriena was refused entry to the public washrooms at the Barrie, Ontario courthouse by security forces.

Officers told her that because she was wearing a Canada Court Watch T shirt, she was considered as posing a threat to the security of the court.

Court Security officers told Oriena that court administrators and judges inside the building had labelled the senior citizen a "gang" member.

Afterwards, outside of the Barrie, Ontario courthouse, Oriena laughed and stated the incident at the court about her being refused entry to use of the washroom was a joke.

"I must be doing something right if these big, burly and armed police officers felt threatened by me, a 71-year old senior citizen," she said.

Oriena stated that the actions of police and court workers that day at the Barrie court was an insult to justice and free speech in Canada.

She said that this only showed that the judges and those who work for the court system were more afraid of her Court Watch T shirt and what it stood for than they were of her.

"The judges and court workers are terrified of the public finding out the truth of what is going on inside of their lavish court buildings.

They know what they are doing is wrong and they only want to hide the truth" she said during an interview with reporters outside of the court.

Over the years, Oriena had acquired a small library of legal books which she graciously shared with people who were in need of helpful legal information.

She provided free legal advocacy under the name "YoYo" Law, the phrase YoYo standing for "Your On Your Own".

Oriena coined this unique name because she believed that people had to self educate themselves about the law and about their rights and freedoms.

She often said that the costs associated with people obtaining competent legal services had become unaffordable to all Canadians except those considered wealthy.

Oriena did not fear standing up against injustice and would often stand up for others in the community, especially those who had been pillaged of their assets and then abandoned by legal professionals.

Just days before her passing, Oriena had rescheduled a court hearing in which she was scheduled to appear in court to represent herself in a lawsuit she had prepared and filed by herself prior to her becoming ill.

Her civil lawsuit against authorities involved the Halton Regional Police and the Crown Attorney's office.

Even with her illness facing her, she forged ahead in expectation of being well enough to fight for justice another day.

Although Oriena wanted very much to keep her scheduled court date, in the end her failing health would not permit her to do so.

Even at 72 years of age, Oriena was ready and willing to set an example to all Canadians by single-handedly challenging local authorities who she believed had done wrong, including the police.

In addition to handing out information to people involved in the court system, Oriena loved going to various courts in the southern Ontario region as a Canada Court Watch observer where she would observe court proceedings and report back about irregularities in the courts.

Archbishop Dorian A. Baxter, the National Chairman of Court Watch, said that Oriena was a person full of spirit, determination and dedication in the pursuit of fairness and justice for her fellow Canadians.

"Good, honest and hard working citizens of her calibre are hard to find," said Baxter.

Oriena has been laid to rest at the St. David's Presbyterian Church in Campbellville.

Oriena will be dearly missed by many.

Source: email from Canada Court Watch