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Brutality CanadaPolice Brutality O Canada |
(Please circulate)
From: Brian Burch
What the Law Says about Unlawful AssemblyCriminal Code of Canada 63 (1) UNLAWFUL ASSEMBLY: An unlawful assembly is an assembly
of three or more persons who, with intent to carry out any
common purpose, assemble in such a manner or so conduct
themselves when they are assembled as to cause persons in
the neighbourhood of the assembly to fear, on reasonable and
probable grounds, that they 63(2) LAWFUL ASSEMBLY BECOMES UNLAWFUL: Persons who are lawfully assembled may become an unlawful assembly if they conduct themselves with a common purpose in a manner that would have made the assembly unlawful if they had assembled in that manner for that purpose. 66 PUNISHMENT FOR UNLAWFUL ASSEMBLY: Everyone who is a member of an unlawful assembly is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction. |
It has been sometime since 1998 and the arrest of a number of activists at the Reclaim the Streets celebration. We were charged with a number of offences, but everyone charged faced Unlawful Assembly charges. I was sitting in the roadway when arrested. Kevin was standing near the curb when arrested. We had both been told we would be held on a 'Breach of the Peace'---an ancient common law tradition that allows people to be held by the police until the police are confident that they won't cause a further breach of the peace. After being held for some hours, this was upgraded to the criminal charge of Unlawful Assembly.
As people who follow political trials in Toronto know, ultimately a mistrial was declared.
However, two of the accused launched a lawsuit against the Toronto police for the arrest.
In February there was an effort to find a mediated settlement, a process ordered by the courts. This was unsuccessful.
During March there have been three days of Examination for Discovery. This is an effort for each party to question other parties in the dispute, primarily to discover the strength of the case of each party. If there are weaknesses in the cases, or if there has not been full disclosurer of information by either party, it also gives some real direction for necessary follow-up.At this time there does not seem to be a willingness on the part of the police to make a substantive offer to settle the case.
It therefore looks like the lawsuit will be going to trial, likely in the spring of 2002----some four years after the original event.
In addition to financial help with this case (see the following letter from Clayton Ruby which outlines the importance of this law suit), there is some additional help that I am appealing for.
It is being alleged by the lawyer for the police that material I had had published or distributed via various list servs will provide evidence that I was an organiser of the 1998 Reclaim the Streets celebration----a claim that would surprise those Involved in the organising.
To respond to this claim, it would help if anyone who has
copies of any reports of the 1998 Reclaim the Streets events
in Toronto that were written by me or mention my name
would forward the material to me at
And, of course, if you take part in any public, non-violent protests for radical social transformation you would certainly help keep the spirit of the 1998 RTS alive---another form of solidarity that would be greatly appreciated.
Brian Burch burch@tao.ca
The following was the original appeal for support for this effort. We could use some financial support. We need approximately $4,000 for transcripts from the original 5 day trial and for the 3 days of examination for discovery, for preparing the case law based arguments and other related disbursement costs. We've received about $1,000 in donations so far, but more would certainly help.
Re: LAWSUIT TARGETS USE OF "UNLAWFUL ASSEMBLY" CHARGE
On Wednesday, January 25, 2000 Brian Burch and Kevin Thomas launched a civil suit against the Toronto police force. They are seeking over $500,000 in specific and general damages as a result of their experiences when they were charged with Unlawful Assembly while present at a peaceful 1998 Reclaim the Streets protest in downtown Toronto.
Taking this action was not an easy decision to make. However, it was felt that something had to be done to respond to the growing criminalization of public protest in Canada.
Denial of Charter guarantees of the rights of assembly and expression should not go unchallenged. Thomas and Burch felt that allowing police broad-ranging power to detain people who are merely present at a peaceful demonstration can lead to even further injustices down the road.
After many pre-trial appearances and a five-day trial, a mistrial was declared and the crown chose to withdraw the charges. Brian Shiller, a well respected civil lawyer, agreed to pursue a civil action arguing that charging the two defendants with unlawful assembly and proceeding to trial violated their Charter rights. With his guidance, a suit alleging violations of sections 2, 7, 8 and 9 of the charter was prepared and launched.The suit is against a number of individual officers, the Toronto Police Department and the Toronto Police Services Board.
Legal actions are expensive. Defending the right to peacefully assembly and not be subject to arbitrary arrest is an ongoing battle of which this case is a small but potentially significant part. I urge all those concerned with civil liberties to financially assist Burch and Thomas in their efforts to fight back against police abuses.
Cheques should be made payable to Brian Shiller in Trust and mailed to Shiller Layton Arbuck, 70 Bond Street, Suite 200, Toronto, Ontario M5B 1X3.
Sincerely,
Clayton Ruby
Send your comments and stories of police brutality to: ruitsdawtah@Hotmail.com
This page created March 30, 2001
