In this episode of the Canadian Constitution Foundation’s Freedom Update, Christine discusses the fundamental freedom of freedom of peaceful assembly, guaranteed under section 2(c) of the Charter.
You may be surprised to learn that in Canada this right has received very limited judicial interpretation. It is often treated as a second order freedom to freedom of expression.
In this episode, Christine examines why that is, and whether the pandemic has changed anything for the development of this right. She also examines how the right to freedom of assembly applies to public protests, including the recent high profiles “freedom convoy” protest in Ottawa and in other parts of Canada. This video also examines some of the recent policy changes in policing that led up to the Freedom Convoy protests in February 2022.
If you want to jump straight to the analysis of the Freedom Convoy discussion, go to time stamp 21:19