Know Your Rights: Part 1
Protest is the beating heart of a society and an opportunity to lay bare the deficiencies of unjust systems. It is important to continue exercising our rights to preserve them, and to challenge attempts to erode them.
Understanding the parameters of your charter-protected rights is essential to engaging in protest activity. With this knowledge, you can better assess risk and participate in protest activities within the window of risk you are willing to take on. For example, civil disobedience carries a higher risk of encounters with law enforcement.
Your Basic Rights
In Canada, we have fundamental freedoms (Section 2), which include the rights to expression and peaceful assembly.
However, there are instances where individuals’ rights may be curtailed, should they be deemed to come into conflict with the rights of the collective. Rights can only be curbed if the limitation is proportionate. For example, a protest cannot endanger others, damage property, or restrict essential services like emergency vehicles. Law enforcement and the courts may have broad (and sometimes differing) interpretations of what “endangering others” might entail.
Another consideration to take into mind when you engage in protest activity is how your rights change depending on location. You have the right to engage in protest on public property, including sidewalks and parks. However, some places that appear public may, in fact, be private property– such as a plaza in front of a private building, malls, and office buildings. The distinction is important because entering private property requires the permission of the owner, and remaining on that property may have legal consequences.
NOTE: An evolving area of law is the implementation of “buffer” or “bubble” zones at the municipal level, where the government will justify limits based on minimizing psychological harm to others.
When expressing yourself in public, keep in mind that you will lose control over who may publish or disseminate your public expression. There is generally no reasonable expectation of privacy in public spaces. For example, you may legally be photographed or recorded, provided that it does not cross the line into harassment or intimidation.
Your rights also change when you are driving a vehicle. Police in Canada can pull you over while driving without providing a reason. Since driving is a privilege, you have some of the fewest protections. If stopped by the police, you are obligated to follow certain directions, such as providing identification. Remaining silent when asked to follow these instructions can lead to arrest. While you do not have to incriminate yourself, you are obligated to assist police in order to “maintain public safety,”.
When engaging in protest activity, interactions with law enforcement can sometimes be inevitable. In Part II, we’ll cover how to manage these interactions.
