Timeline: Police violations against women journalists in Canada
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The Coalition For Women In Journalism has observed a rising pattern of police violence against women journalists in Canada. Women journalists face police transgressions disproportionately we find. It is deeply concerning that they are made to suffer at the hands of state institutions while in the line of duty. The CFWIJ has recorded violations in detail and in context of recent infringements on press freedom by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) at protests by indigenous land defenders in Wet'suwet'en territory. It is apparent that the police in Canada have been allowed to benefit from a level of impunity when it comes to their violations against press freedom. The CFWIJ has documented the following timeline of the police’s violations against women journalists.
November 19, 2021
The Coalition for Women in Journalism condemns the arrest of photojournalist Amber Bracken, who was reporting on the escalating situation at Gidimt’en camp in Wet’suwet’en territory. The RCMP’s transgressions at the protesters’ campsite reached a crescendo on November 19, with the Amber’s arrest along with several others, including documentary filmmaker Michael Toledano. In arresting journalists reporting on a crucial issue, the RCMP stood in blatant violation of the freedom of the press and the right to information.
CBC journalist Meghan Grant alongside NDP MLA Shannon Phillips received retaliatory threats from officers of Lethbridge Police Service for exposing misconduct within the police force. The threats came to light through a whistleblower, who revealed the nature of the discussions within police offices regarding the ongoing investigations. The whistleblower claimed that retaliatory action was being discussed against the journalist and the lawmaker due to their activism and reportage.
September 22, 2021:
Indigenous journalist Starla Myers was arrested on September 16, 2020 by Ontario Provincial Police over her coverage of protests of land defenders in the 1492 Land Back Lane action reclaiming land along the Haldimand Tract. Starla was contacted by the police late on September 14, 2020 and was informed that she had to meet with them regarding “an issue in Haldimand County”. She met with the Ontario Provincial Police in September at the Six Nations Police Department station in Oshweken.
August 18, 2021:
Journalists Alexa MacLean, Sarah Plowman and Zane Woodford were asked to vacate the premises of the Horseshoe Park when they were covering the eviction of citizens who had taken shelter there. According to the updates they posted on their social media platforms, the police kept arriving in hoards to vacate the park despite those on the location presenting no threats.
Journalist Zane Woodford took to his Twitter account to post videos of the police overreach at the Horseshoe Park where journalists were denied the right to cover the ongoing evictions.
July 19, 2021:
The Canadian Association of Journalists sued the RCMP for restricting access of the press to the Fairy Creek demonstrations. Both, the police brutality on site and the subsequent censorship has been an ongoing issue for months. In response to the lawsuit, the RCMP registered an affidavit against journalist Brandi Morin accusing her of lying about being prohibited from visiting the site despite there being video proof to the contrary.
The RCMP temporarily restricted press access to the headwaters of Fairy Creek, the last unlogged old-growth valley on southern Vancouver Island. The press was present there to cover the protests of the The Rainforest Flying Squad, which has been protesting and successfully blocking logging of an old-growth forest in the region since last year. Photojournalist Jen Osborne was prevented from covering the events at Fairy Creek. In a tweet, she claimed that she was denied access to ensure that the police brutality against protestors remains under wraps.
May 18, 2021:
The RCMP temporarily restricted press access to the headwaters of Fairy Creek, the last unlogged old-growth valley on southern Vancouver Island. The press was present there to cover the protests of the The Rainforest Flying Squad who have been protesting and successfully blocking logging of an old-growth forest in the region since last year. Journalist Jen Osborne was one of the many journalists who revealed the repression of the free press at the Fairy Creek blockade on Twitter.
The RCMP harassed and attempted to intimidate journalist Brandi Morin when she visited the Unist’ot’en Healing Cam. Brandi took her Twitter to share the mistreatment. During the time, she was visiting the area alongside Amber Bracken to shoot a “series”.
February 29, 2020:
Melissa Cox, an American journalist and documentary filmmaker, was arrested by the RCMP on February 24. She was conditionally released after seven hours of detention. She was detained on an unceded Gitxsan territory in New Hazelton. Melissa was documenting a protest by indigenous people in Canada’s westernmost province.
