Labour 4 Palestine to file charter challenge against Ottawa
JAN 19 — The Palestinian Youth Movement’s (PYM) Sarah Abdul-Karim stands on a dimly lit stage addressing a cafe full of supporters. It is the Ottawa Peace Council’s Potluck for Palestine, a fundraiser for the PYM’s legal defence against Ottawa by-law.
Abdul-Karim denounced the city for punishing a group already grappling with the grief of genocide. The crowd erupts with chants of “SHAME.”
Since Dec. 23, By-law and Regulatory Services (BLRS) have issued over 30 fines and two charges against Palestinian protestors. The actions are being heavily criticized for violating charter rights and expressing a political bias.
BLRS has been ticketing people for using sound reproduction devices (megaphones and speakers) on highways or public places. An email attributed to the director of BLRS, Roger Chapman, claims that “enforcement during demonstrations is a result of escalated actions by the participants, which may pose nuisance and public safety issues.” The email also states officers issued 140 verbal warnings before charging anyone.
In a later interview with the Fulcrum, Abdul-Karim said these warnings were issued with no prior notice. “Out of nowhere by-law and police came up to us and informed us that they will be giving tickets for sound machines, including our main sound system, and any megaphones in the crowd. We had not been informed before then. And as I mentioned, we had done over 10 protests [prior] with no issues.”
With protestors ready to fight their tickets in court, advocates are concerned law enforcement is escalating its action.
Hassan Husseini is an organizer for Labour 4 Palestine and has received two fines for demonstrating. He says police are becoming increasingly aggressive, “I can tell you we’ve got individual police officers pushing and shoving young women demonstrators. And in one instance, when I confronted the police officer, I said, ‘What are you doing?’ And he said, ‘She pushed me first.’ Completely childish […] behaviour by the police in trying to intimidate our community.”
Both Husseini and Abdul-Karim point to a recent incident where six police officers and bylaw followed two young women into an underground parking lot to ticket them. Bystanders immediately stood up for the women by calling the police out on the intimidation tactic, and ultimately no charges were issued.
Videos circulating on social media show bylaw officers showing up to demonstrators’ homes late at night to ticket them. Husseini says instead of giving tickets out at protests, law enforcement collects people’s personal information to “harass” and “terrorize” them in front of neighbours.
Husseini, Abdul-Karim, and most demonstrators believe these actions from law enforcement are inherently political. When asked about surveillance, Husseini says he is concerned but believes it will backfire since the movement is not doing anything illegal.
“We are not engaging in any actions that are contrary to what the Charter of Rights and Freedoms allows us to do. So if the bylaw officers and police officers engage in the kind of surveillance, that encroaches on our privacy, […] that violates our rights.” Husseini revealed that he and others are in the process of filing a charter challenge against the city of Ottawa. The legal defence fund set up by Labour 4 Palestine will finance this challenge alongside fighting tickets and criminal charges thrown at protestors.
Abdul-Karim says Mayor Sutcliffe should take accountability for this “attempt to suppress Palestinian voices.” She believes his choice to target Palestinian protests, in particular, is a “racist form of discrimination” and highlights he has not called for a ceasefire like other city mayors.
Husseini said the city’s attempts to suppress protests are only unifying supporters at a faster rate. “If anything, [all] they’ve done is that they have increased my resolve as an individual and our resolve as a community to stand up even more forcefully. In the past, maybe I would skip a demo […] but I will never skip a demo right now. I am always there. And I can tell you everybody is feeling the same way.”
As of Feb. 26, Husseini notes a halt in ticket issuance for the past two to three weeks. He believes authorities recognize they crossed a line when they followed the young women in the parking lot.
At a recent rally commemorating the freedom convoy’s second anniversary, Husseini observed that no attendees were fined for using megaphones or fireworks, a statement supported by Chief Eric Stubbs. Contrarily, Bylaw Services communicated to the CBC that they did in fact issue several violations. Why the answers differ is not known.
