Freeman movement causing nuisance for police, courts
Adherents claim not to recognize authority
In the weeks leading up to a lawsuit that saw Gerald Laird taking aim at Calgary’s mayor, chief of police, his alderman, MLA and MP, he turned to Youtube for guidance.
The idea to sue everyone he could think of occurred to Laird, a 50-yearold heavy-equipment operator, after his son had another run-in with police over old warrants.
Father and son decided to fight the government after watching a video that told them they could.
“Is this true or what? And you start looking into it more and more,” said Laird. “It just blows you away. At first you get pissed right off, and then you realize you don’t have to do it anymore.”
By do it, Laird means pay taxes or obey Canadian laws.
“I am a Freeman,” he says in his statement of claim, which was recently dismissed. “I do not see the need to ask permission to engage in lawful and peaceful activities.”
Laird says he intends to file an appeal.
One of those “peaceful activities” includes driving with a homemade licence plate.
“It’s not fair. People have rights,” he said. “I’m not let letting it go.”
Laird’s lawsuit is an example of a growing movement of so-called “sovereign citizens” who clog the legal system and argue with traffic police over their interpretation of the law.
Laird is part of a fringe movement called Freeman on the Land. A handful in Calgary and area are pulled over by traffic police.
But Laird is the first to level a lawsuit.
Their illegal homemade licence plates catch the eye of the provincial traffic sheriffs.
“We come across them from time to time. We treat them the same as anyone else who used the provincial highways and anyone who breaks the law can expect to receive a ticket,” said Patrick Mears, spokesmen for Alberta Traffic Sheriffs.
“As far as I’m aware, there have been no major incidents on Alberta’s highways involving sheriffs and Freemen.”
Across the country, the RCMP report the same.
“Individuals associated to this movement are a concern because some followers advocate violence to promote their views and this may involve violence toward police officers,” said Ottawa RCMP Sgt. Greg Cox.
“There are officer safety concerns when dealing with followers of this movement during routine police interaction. At this time, we have no indication that they pose a specific threat to the general public.”
Officers, however, regularly vent frustrations online about their growing dealings with the Freeman movement.
“They set out, very deliberately, to make things as difficult as possible for police and courts. They put up every obstruction, refuse to co-operate in even the most minor matter. And police and lawyers are people — unless it’s the most serious of charges when faced with having to put in an extreme amount of work for even a small charge, the temptation to just throw up your hands and walk away is strong,” reads a recent posting on blueline.ca, a na- tional law-enforcement magazine website.
Others dismiss them as delusional: “Sounds like a Form 10 to me,” wrote Sumo CPO from Alberta, referencing the police code for arrests made under provisions of the Alberta Mental Health Act.
Others say they’re growing frustrated by frivolous lawsuits from “Freeloaders on the Lam” and their, at times, belligerent “pseudo-legal jibber-jabber.”
Lawsuits and traffic-court cases are cropping up, but according to the Alberta Crown’s office, dismissed.
“Both the Provincial Court and the Court of Queen’s Bench have the authority in pre-trial conferences to strike out or amend a statement of claim, counterclaim or dispute note if it is, among other things, frivolous or vexatious,” said Alberta Justice spokeswoman Julie Siddons.
“Obviously, given the growing number of cases the justice system is required to deal with, it’s important to avoid tying up the courts on cases that are without merit, so that court time and resources can be spent on matters of real consequence.”
Traffic police and court staff across the country are seeing more activity from people calling themselves Freeman on the Land.
So-called “sovereign citizens” claim to be part of a radical movement that does not recognize government authority.
In Canada, the Freeman on the Land followers seek guidance from Robert Menard.
Menard, a former Toronto street comic, urges them to “think free.”
He is said to sell documents to followers guiding them on how to translate Canada’s laws and fight to separate themselves from the government.
So far, the freemen are mostly a nuisance to traffic police and courts.
One of the first acts of “opting out of Canada” sees them refusing to licence their cars, carry government-issued identification or obey police.
When they are pulled over for driving without legal licence plates, they argue endlessly with police.
They modify their names with punctuation under the belief it will make it harder for authorities to “prove they exist.”
They fight tickets by filing near-incoherent documents.
Laird’s statement of claim names the city’s highest ranking figures, however fails to outline any wrong doing.
He also attached a nonsensical fee schedule that demanded $500 an hour or portion thereof if police wanted to question him, and $3,000 for every hour he spent handcuffed or jailed.
He also wanted to charge $2,000 per day if his car was seized.
Anti-tax and law crusaders are not a new phenomenon, but cases have been cropping up recently.
Last month, a standoff between police and a motorist forced the shut down of Hwy. 407 in Markham, Ontario, for several hours March 19.
York Regional Police Sgt. Gary Phillips said officers began following a black Mercedes-benz with “suspicious” plates around 9 a.m.
They pulled the car over soon after in the westbound lanes of the highway.
In February, Manitoba chiropractor Rosalie Chobotar was sentenced to six months in jail for income tax evasion plus a $162,513 fine — the amount she owes the Canada Revenue Agency.