Police cannot arrest lawful protesters to prevent violence by others, the Supreme Court ruled on Friday.
The decision comes in the case of Randy Fleming, who carried a Canadian flag on a pole as part of a counterprotest against an Indigenous occupation of Crown land in Caledonia, Ont., in 2009.
It has wide implications for peaceful protests in Canada. The police, the court said, have no authority under the English common law (a centuries-old body of precedents) to arrest provocative but lawful protesters – even when police fear others may engage in violence.
It was the first Supreme Court ruling in Canadian history to address police powers in such circumstances, the court said. Two lower courts that dealt with the case both accepted that such an arrest power existed.
“This is the authority that police used to justify the biggest mass arrests in Canadian history in the G-20 debacle,” lawyer Sean Dewart said, referring to the preventive arrests of more than 1,000 people in 2010 in downtown Toronto. Mr. Dewart represented the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, which intervened in the Fleming case. “Democracy and freedom of expression are considerably more safe than they were as a result of this ruling.”
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See Also:
(1) Justice at last for Caledonia man arrested for carrying a Canadian flag
“Police cannot arrest lawful protesters”
Ha, that made me LOL. As it pertains at least to the Hamilton Police it now officially cannot arrest lawful protesters . Now for the funny part. . Last week they demonstrated that they can’t (or won’t) arrest unlawful protestors either. Case in point the masked protesters violating the Criminal Code by screaming and by other actions causing a disturbance e.g. blocking the passage of the elderly couple trying to cross the street. It is time to make it illegal to cover ones face when participating in any public demonstration. But then again, what use would such a law be if the police simple refuse to enforce it as well.
In reality not funny at all. Pathetic. Today I would be ashamed to be a member of the Hamilton Police Department. I have NO doubt that the vast majority of the officers serving on that department feel exactly the same way.
Anarchist definition is – a person who rebels against any authority, established order, or ruling power. IMO these masked thugs fit the definition perfectly. Unmask them and shine the bright light of public exposure on the cockroaches twisted hate filled faces.