Rocco Galati

Rocco Galati (born 1959) is an Italian-born Canadian lawyer who specializes in cases involving constitutional law. He is the founder and executive director of the Constitutional Rights Centre.

Early life and education Galati was born in Calabria, Italy and his family immigrated to Canada in 1965. He graduated from McGill University in 1984 with a Bachelor of Arts and then graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1987.

Career After his Call to the bar he worked at the federal Department of Justice.

Criminal cases In 2001, Galati defended Delmart Vreeland at trial.

Galati was Abdurahman Khadr's first lawyer. In late 2003, Galati resigned from all national security cases after being the target of death threats. Galati later characterized the threats as "institutional" and "governmental" but did not elaborate. In 2008, charges were stayed against Ghany and three other defendants. The Act requires that three members of the Supreme Court be from Quebec. The Quebec government announced that it would also challenge Nadon's appointment. Nadon's appointment was voided.

The Federal Court of Canada later awarded Galati $5,000 for his fees in bringing his application. The court ruled that Galati and his legal partner Paul Slansky were not legally successful in their application, even if they may have initiated a series of events leading to the reference question. In April 2015, the court ruled unanimously that the justice department acted within its constitutional powers in the Mainville appointment.

Bank of Canada case In 2011, Galati brought a case against the Canadian government to restore the Bank of Canada as a lender to the government. The case was brought on behalf of the Committee on Monetary and Economic Reform.

On February 8, 2016 Justice Russell struck COMER's amended claim in its entirety and refused leave to amend the claim. Costs were awarded to the crown. In his ruling, Justice Russell stated "their response convinces me that, for reasons given, they have no scintilla of a cause of action that this Court can or should hear."

On March 3, 2016 COMER filed a notice of appeal with the Court of Appeal. On May 4, 2017 the Supreme Court dismissed COMER's application for leave to appeal this decision.

COVID-19 Galati has been a vocal opponent of COVID-19 vaccines and government measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada. In this regard, he has represented a range of individuals and organizations. Examples include Dr. Rochagné Kilian of Owen Sound, who is part of a group of Ontario doctors accused of freely dispensing vaccine exemptions, Action4Canada and Vaccine Choice Canada.

On July 6, 2020, Galati filed a lawsuit on behalf of Vaccine Choice Canada challenging Canada's provincial and national COVID-19 response. Among the named defendants were the Government of Canada, Government of Ontario, the City of Toronto, and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). Galati was also involved in the preparation of a lawsuit against COVID-19 vaccine mandates at the University of Waterloo, in coordination with the Canadian chapter of Children's Health Defense. Prospective plaintiffs were instructed to prepare to pay $2,000 to join the suit, and that they may be "on the hook" for an additional $2,000 if the suit was unsuccessful.

In January 2022, Galati was seriously ill in the ICU. A similar suit was struck by Federal Court Judge Simon Fothergill in February 2023 on the same grounds.

In March 2023, Galati filed a class action lawsuit against the Regional Municipality of York and York Regional Police on behalf of employees fired or placed on leave as a result of the municipality's mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy.

On December 11, 2023, Justice William Chalmers of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice dismissed a defamation lawsuit filed by Galati against multiple defendants, including the Canadian Society for the Advancement of Science in Public Policy (CSASPP), finding that the suit was intended to silence criticism of a proposed class action lawsuit related to COVID-19 restrictions.

On December 18, 2024, another proposed class action suit brought by Galati was rejected by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on the grounds that it lacked a reasonable cause of action, constituted an abuse of process, and that the court had no jurisdictional authority over the matter. The suit was brought on behalf of 473 plaintiffs, many of whom were unionized and had not exhausted the mandatory arbitration process.