Posted yesterday at 4:00 p.m.
All the media, mayors and elected officials repeat that these people have the right to demonstrate, but don’t we need a permit to demonstrate and a route for a demonstration to be legitimate? In Ottawa as in Quebec, these demonstrations are illegal even before we talk about sieges!
Johanne Cote, Quebec
It is true that during the maple spring of 2012, of which we highlight the 10and anniversary these days, several municipalities required disclosure of the route and even a permit for a demonstration to be held.
In Montreal, we had even tightened the regulations on this subject precisely because of the student demonstrations.
However, these municipal regulations have since been challenged in court, and with success.
In 2019, after a long legal battle, the Court of Appeal ruled in favor of citizen André Bérubé, who was contesting a fine of $150 received for having refused to provide his itinerary to the police during a demonstration held in Quebec against the indexation of tuition fees.
The Court ruled that the articles of the Quebec City by-law which required providing the itinerary before holding a demonstration were contrary to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. More specifically, they violated the freedom of expression and the freedom to assemble peacefully.
The judges pointed out that the application of this regulation made any spontaneous demonstration illegal.
In the same way, the Court of Appeal invalidated in 2018 articles of the famous P-6 regulation of the City of Montreal governing the demonstrations. This had been challenged by Julien Villeneuve, nicknamed “Anarchopanda for free education” because he paraded with a panda costume during the student demonstrations of 2012.
In light of these judgments, therefore, it cannot be said that the demonstrations which shook Ottawa and Quebec are “illegal” because those who participated in them did not provide a route or did not obtain a permit beforehand. .
This does not mean that these demonstrations are legal.
Louis-Philippe Lampron, professor at the Faculty of Law at Laval University, points out that in the case of Ottawa, at the very least, we are not dealing with a traditional demonstration.
“A demonstration can restrict car traffic. Now, it’s one thing to walk during a demonstration, it’s another to park in the middle of a thoroughfare. That, according to my analysis of the case law, could be excluded from the protection of freedom of expression, ”he said.
“Demonstrating does not allow any type of action,” adds the specialist.
Take your car and park it in the middle of the street. The chances are excellent that someone, ticket book in hand, will quickly make you understand that you are violating the Highway Safety Code.
The charters of rights and freedoms take precedence over other laws. But what Professor Lampron explains is that they are very unlikely to protect you if you block a street for two weeks with an 18-wheeler truck or if you set up camp in the middle of the city, like what is happening in Ottawa.
For the record, it is amusing to note that in 2012, Montreal regulations prohibited wearing a mask during a demonstration. This article was successfully challenged by Anarchopanda in Superior Court in 2016. Today, many people watch with concern the unmasked protesters in Ottawa. Other times, other manners…