Calgary Herald

Bill 1 violates Charter rights, AUPE claims

Union taking government to court over act they say threatens peaceful protest

- ASHLEY JOANNOU ajoannou@postmedia.com

EDMONTON Alberta’s largest public sector union is taking the government to court, claiming legislatio­n passed to keep protesters away from critical infrastruc­ture goes too far and violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) filed the statement of claim in the Court of Queen’s Bench Tuesday.

It says Bill 1, The Critical Infrastruc­ture Defence Act, which came into force June 17, breaches freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and freedom of associatio­n, all rights protected by the charter. The union wants the court to throw out the legislatio­n.

AUPE president Guy Smith said his union is prepared to fight the case all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada.

“As we know, peaceful protest is a cornerston­e of our democracy, keeps our democracy active, and it should be protected,” he said. “And here you have those folks being turned into criminals and having their life, liberty and justice or security denied them.”

Bill 1 was tabled in February following weeks of cross-country protests supporting Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs opposed to the Coastal Gaslink pipeline in British Columbia including a west Edmonton protest that blocked railway tracks for 12 hours.

Premier Jason Kenney blamed mining giant Teck’s decision to withdraw from its $20-billion Frontier oilsands mine project on “virtual anarchy” and “chaos” stemming from the protests.

The act prohibits individual­s from entering, damaging, obstructin­g, or interferin­g with “essential infrastruc­ture” and imposes stiff fines or jail time on those who break the rules. The union says what qualifies as essential infrastruc­ture is too broad.

Along with railways, oilsands sites and other locations, the definition of essential also includes any road, trail or sidewalk.

“So that opens the door to a massive abuse of power,” Smith said.

The union’s case also alleges that imposing jail time for an offence under Bill 1 violates a person’s right to life, liberty and security.

Smith says the legislatio­n, and the ability for the government to add to the definition of essential infrastruc­ture via regulation­s, means union members could find themselves in trouble for actions like protesting or handing out leaflets in front of their workplace.

In a written statement Tuesday, Jonah Mozeson, press secretary for Justice Minister Doug Schweitzer, said the bill is aimed at those who block key infrastruc­ture such as railways, bridges, pipelines and highways.

Allowing the bill to pass will serve to erode individual rights, unfairly target Indigenous Peoples, and has no place in a democratic society, and I urge Premier Kenney to rescind it.

“If the union bosses at AUPE are planning on blocking railways, they should let Albertans know,” he said.

Appeals all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada will likely take years.

In the meantime, Smith said that while the union is not holding any mass gatherings right now due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they will happen again and the union has a legal fund to help anyone who is arrested and charged.

“The union is there for its members and obviously will protect them if something happens as a result of this piece of legislatio­n,” he said.

The union is not the only group to complain about Bill 1. In February, the Assembly of First Nations called on Kenney to rescind the bill.

“Allowing the bill to pass will serve to erode individual rights, unfairly target Indigenous Peoples, and has no place in a democratic society, and I urge Premier Kenney to rescind it,” said Marlene Poitras, Assembly of First Nations Regional Chief for Alberta, in a statement at the time.

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