PLAINTIFFS ALLEGE THAT BOARD VIOLATED FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
A coalition of community groups and individuals filed a class-action lawsuit against the Ottawa Police Department on Aug. 9 for violating their freedom of expression during public consultation meetings.
The Ottawa Police Services Board (OPSB) hosts monthly meetings, open to the public to receive input from Ottawa residents regarding matters affecting the public, including concerns regarding the impact of policing on communities and issues affecting the health and safety of Ottawa residents.
The coalition alleges that the OPSB repeatedly silenced presenters by outright restricting them from speaking during meetings and by creating limits on delegations. The plaintiffs are asking for $27,500 in compensation.
Parties Involved
There are nine plaintiffs, consisting of organizations and individuals, that are suing OPSB.
The plaintiffs involved in this lawsuit, represented by attorney Yawar Hameed, are as follows:
- Robin Browne, co-leader and founder of 613-819 Black Hub (“the Black Hub”);
- Black Hub, an Ottawa-based organization that addresses anti-Black racism through systemic change;
- Sam Hersh, grassroots community organizer who focuses on housing and human rights;
- OPIRG-GRIPO Ottawa, a U of O student-levied non-profit that facilitates and supports campus and community activism;
- OPIRG-Carleton, a Carleton University student-funded organization that educates and provides action on social and environmental justice;
- The Coalition Against More Surveillance (CAMS), a group of Ottawa residents, activists, and scholars concerned about the potential use of video surveillance cameras by the City of Ottawa to monitor areas of the city;
- Criminalization and Punishment Education Project (CPEP), an activist organization of critical criminologists, students, researchers, community members, and front-line workers that focuses on supporting criminalized people and their families.
- Jeffery Bradley, a member of CPEP and a PhD candidate in Legal Studies at Carleton University.
- Black Student Leader’s Association (BSLA), a U of O-based organization that provides resources and methods of advocacy to combat anti-Black racism on campuses across Canada and in other environments.
The defendant of this lawsuit is the Ottawa Police Services Board, which consists of a seven-member civilian body that oversees the Ottawa Police Service. OPSB recommends a budget for the Ottawa Police Service, which is approved by Ottawa City Council.
Events Alleged in Lawsuit
Mar. 2020: Meetings were moved online via Zoom because of the pandemic.
Nov. 2020: Delegates raised concerns about not being able to ask questions to OPSB members.
June 2021: OPSB hired two consulting firms, Public Affairs and Community Engagement (PACE) and Middle Ground Policy Research, to write a report on OPSB’s engagement with the public.
Oct. 2021: Engagement report was released, which recommended that OPSB should set up another forum exclusively for public consultation, separate from the monthly meetings. Black Hub raised concerns to the Board that creating a separate forum would make it harder for the public to engage with OPSB members.
Jan. 2022: Board meetings were set to return to in-person format; however, anti-vaccine protests occupied downtown Ottawa till Feb 18, 2022.
Feb 28, 2022: OPSB cancelled scheduled meeting; public was unable to ask questions about the police response to the anti-vaccine protests.
Mar. 2022: Meetings returned exclusively in-person despite calls from residents for virtual or hybrid delegations.
Apr. 25, 2022: Eli El-Chantiry, then Board chair, stated in a Board meeting “Going forward I will be ensuring all participants in our meeting abide by our procedural guidelines. This includes refraining from…making allegations against members of the police service or even members of the police board or staff.”
Nov. 30, 2022: The 613-819 Black Hub and others staged a non-violent act of civil disobedience at the meeting to protest the Board’s restrictions on public delegations, including its refusal to allow virtual delegations. The City of Ottawa subsequently banned Robin Browne from the City Council Chamber for one year.
Dec. 2022: OPSB cancelled scheduled meeting following Nov. 30 demonstration.
Feb. 27, 2023: OPSB passed motion that a) limited delegations to one hour for all delegations combined when there previously had been no limit; b) limited delegations to three minutes if more than 12 people register to speak during the hour; c) prioritized delegates who have not spoken in the last three months; and d) required delegates to submit their comments in writing beforehand.
The lawsuit states that “there has been a marked decline in public delegations since April 2023.”
May 26, 2023: OPSB refused to let another presenter speak on Browne’s behalf for the June 2023 meeting. This same person was previously allowed to present on Browne’s behalf on Sep. 26, 2022.
June 26, 2023: Board chair, Dr. Gail Beck declared Browne’s delegation “inappropriate” in the way it characterized her. She then called for a vote which unanimously denied Browne the right to speak.
July 20, 2023: Beck denied Browne the opportunity to present his delegation, which would have discussed the Ottawa Police Service’s role in the Guiding Council on Mental Health and Addiction. Beck wrote that the delegation “must concern a ‘matter within the jurisdiction of the Board.’”
Timeline of Lawsuit
Aug 9, 2023: Coalition filed a claim with the Ottawa Small Claims Court seeking $27,500 in damages.
Sep 5, 2023: News release was distributed to newspapers and posted on social media.
Sep. 11, 2023: “In the Face of Power” panel was held.
Sep. 29, 2023: Extended deadline for OPSB to issue a response to the coalition’s claim.
The plaintiffs Browne and Hersch are confident that the coalition will win this lawsuit, however, they await OPSB’s response to the lawsuit.
“[The police] have the opportunity to justify whatever incursion on our rights is reasonable to society,” plaintiff’s lawyer Hameed said. “I think the real question here will be wording around reasonableness.”
