RCMP shutdown of Surrey protest supporting Indian farmers unconstitutional: lawyer

SURREY (NEWS 1130) — A human rights lawyer says a volunteer of a drive-in protest that was shut down by Mounties in Surrey on Saturday may have a solid case against the RCMP, calling the move a violation of their constitutional rights.

Jason Gratl is joining rally volunteers along with the BC Civil Liberties Association in calling out the police for quashing a rally in support of Indian Farmers at the Cloverdale Recreation Center.

“The RCMP has no business limiting the constitutional right to free expression and association on the basis that some regulatory infraction might occur,” he says.

“The simple weighing process that authorities must take to make sure that the infringement of free expression and association is adequately justified, it does not sound in my view that the RCMP engaged in an exercise inappropriate fashion.”

Yesterday Surrey RCMP shut down protest by Punjabi-Canadians despite compliance with health orders permitting "drive-in" events.

"This was an overbroad enforcement measure and the ticket should be withdrawn," states BCCLA Staff Counsel Meghan McDermotthttps://t.co/Fnoj2qtstG

— BC Civil Liberties Association (@bccla) January 17, 2021

The RCMP shut down the rally before it began. Cpl. Joanie Sidhu with the Surrey RCMP says police were told as many as 10,000 people were expected which Mounties say said would have violated public health orders.

“In this case, what was concerning was that there was information received that in excess of 8,000 to 10,000 individuals would be attending,” Sidhu says.

“This posed a big risk not only to a safety risk, not only to the individuals attending but to the community as a whole, because of course once these individuals leave the event — they go back to their communities and their homes.”

RELATED: Volunteer questions RCMP shutdown of Surrey rally supporting Indian farmers

Gratl says the RCMP’s actions violated the constitutional rights of the protesters.

“The protesters stated intention was that they would remain in their cars for the duration of the protest. There isn’t even a reasonable basis to apprehend a breach of emergency regulations as passed by the province of British Columbia. But we should bear in mind as well that even those emergency regulations are skating on thin ice in terms of whether those regulations themselves are unconstitutional,” he says.

The only other protests that have been stopped by police amid the pandemic have been in Kelowna, where crowds have gathered to oppose public health orders and mask mandates.

“There’s a world of difference, to my mind, between stopping a protest where the stated intention of the protest is to breach the law and stopping a protest, where there’s no such stated intention at all, where the state of intention is to comply with the law.”

In a statement, Pindie Kaur, one of the protest volunteers, says the Mountie’s actions “have denied our community their democratic rights.”

“The Surrey RCMP unfairly targeted and unnecessarily undermined a protest planned in compliance with public health orders. The RCMP squandered an opportunity to have meaningful dialogue and ensure the rights of the public to peacefully protest were protected. One of the only options we have, as Canadians watching the Farmers’ Protests from far away, is to exercise our democratic right to peacefully protest without the heavy-handed interference of the RCMP. As a result of the RCMP’s unfair enforcement against our protest, the Punjabi community has now been made an online target for racist remarks.”

In Gratl’s view, he says there was not sufficient grounds for the RCMP to “restrict the freedom of expression and freedom of association in the way they have done.”

RELATED: Surrey RCMP preemptively shut down drive-in rally supporting Indian farmers

RCMP have confirmed one ticket was issued a $2,300 fine.

“That was to an individual who took part in the organization of the event, and that was for promoting a large gathering,” Sidhu says.

Volunteers told NEWS 1130 Sunday the shutdown was a surprise to them, alleging the RCMP told them the protest required a permit.

A volunteer who worked for weeks to organize a drive-in rally in Surrey supporting Indian farmers Saturday is crushed that police shut it down before it even began, saying the explanation of why it was not allowed to proceed makes no sense. https://t.co/UpZlZuPUnd pic.twitter.com/5LiAg2gfmX

— CityNews 1130 Vancouver (Inactive) (@news1130) January 17, 2021

Police say the lack of permit was only one factor informing their decision.

“In this case, there was no permit in place, but that was not the only concern because, of course, you know we do support individuals’ right to protest safely — but we have to balance the individual’s right to protest with public safety. And there were too many public safety risks place that that required us to intervene,” Sidhu says.

This weekend’s demonstration included a number of speakers and performers who were lined up Sidhu added.

“In this case, this was something that was beginning to look more like an event with such a large volume of individuals that were going to be attending and vendors that do encourage individuals to get out of their vehicle and congregate in an unsafe manner that goes against the public health orders.”

RELATED: Talks remain deadlocked between Indian farmers, government

At issue in India are laws passed by the government that farmers and their supporters say will leave them at a disadvantage in favour of large, corporate land-holders.

Talks between the Indian government and representatives of tens of thousands of protesting farmers remained deadlocked Friday, with the government refusing to scrap new agricultural reform laws, which the farmers say will benefit large corporations.

The farmers will continue their nearly two-month blockade of highways connecting the capital with the country’s north and say they will intensify the protest by organizing a massive tractor rally in New Delhi during Republic Day celebrations on Jan. 26.

With files from The Associated Press