Article content

TORONTO — A defiant, diminutive 89-year-old woman 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 told Ontario court she agreed with the aims of the census, but objected to the involvement of American arms behemoth, Lockheed Martin.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Audrey Tobias, 89-year-old peace activist, pleads not guilty in trial for census refusal over weapons-maker link Back to video

“When I learned that the contract for the information technology was being given to a foreign company, I was shocked,” Tobias testified.

“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 is arguing that forcing her to complete the census would violate her freedoms of conscience and free expression.

Tobias said she was unconcerned about the consequences of a conviction.

“I’m not worried; we’ll take it as it comes,” she said during a break in the proceedings.