The Justice Centre represented Cory Teichroew, after the Edmonton man was detained and handcuffed by Alberta Sheriffs and ticketed during a peaceful rally at the Alberta Legislature grounds.
On the afternoon of Sunday, May 10, 2020 approximately 50 people attended the Edmonton Legislature grounds to peacefully rally and express their views regarding various issues, such as the recent gun ban imposed by the federal government and the current lockdown measures imposed by the Alberta Government. The rally-goers were spread out and maintaining at least 2 meters distance from each other. Also in attendance were at least 20 Sheriffs and Edmonton Police officers.
After about 30 minutes, three teams of three Sheriffs each moved among the people and targeted specific individuals. The first was Cory Teichroew, an Aboriginal man. One of the Sheriffs pointed at him and said, “that one”. Three Sheriffs surrounded him, handcuffed him, and took him away. He was then given a $1,200 ticket for “contravening section 73(1) of the Public Health Act”. No explanation was provided to Mr. Teichroew as to what law he had supposedly broken.
“Covid-19 has not suspended the rule of law. The Sheriffs acted in a heavy-handed and arbitrary manner by handcuffing and ticketing Mr. Teichroew while he was peacefully exercising their constitutional rights at the Legislature grounds,” notes lawyer James Kitchen. On August 26, 2020, the ticket was withdrawn by Crown prosecutors. Meanwhile, the Justice Centre assisted Mr. Teichroew in submitting a complaint regarding the conduct of the Alberta Sheriffs who handcuffed and ticketed him.
“The arbitrary targeting, handcuffing, removal from the Legislature grounds and ticketing of Mr. Teichroew had no basis in law and was an abuse of power,” stated Kitchen.
“The Justice Centre is pleased to see that the Crown has dropped this ticket, tacitly acknowledging the unconstitutionality of it, however the ticket should never have been issued in the first place. In a free society, people have the right to assemble and express themselves at important symbolic places like the Legislature grounds without fear of police detention and ticketing—even when the protest they attend is not a politically correct one,” concluded Kitchen.
