A freelance photojournalist who was arrested in November 2021 at a resistance camp set up by opponents of the Coastal GasLink pipeline west of Prince George, BC, announced Monday that she has joined The Narwhal to launch a lawsuit against the RCMP filed as a result of the incident.
During a press event at the BC Supreme Court in downtown Vancouver, Amber Bracken and the editors of The Narwhal said they are suing the Mounties for wrongful arrest, wrongful detention and violation of charter rights.
“I felt kidnapped,” said Bracken. “My role is to witness events. I have to be present.”
The Edmonton-based journalist was on Wet’suwet’en territory on assignment for The Narwhal when she was arrested along with several project protesters and documentary filmmaker Michael Toledano as police attempted to enforce an injunction allowing construction of the pipeline .
Toledano was working on a documentary commissioned by CBC The passionate eye at the time of his arrest.
Journalists’ rights are guaranteed by Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and the arrests of Bracken and Toledano on November 19, 2021 sparked outrage among press freedom advocates.
“The lawsuit filed this morning seeks to establish meaningful consequences for police when they interfere with the constitutional rights of journalists covering events in restraint zones,” said Emma Gilchrist, co-founder and chief executive officer of The Narwhal.
She said the outlet would rather not engage in a lengthy, expensive legal battle, but the situation left them no choice and they are now seeking court explanations that Bracken’s rights have been violated.
“Failing to move forward in this case would mean turning your back on what is right,” Gilchrist said, adding she hopes the move will pave the way for other journalists to work without police interference.
Gilchrist’s colleague and editor-in-chief of The Narwhal, Carol Linnitt, told reporters what happened to Bracken on Wet’suwet’en-Land pointed to a pattern that showed the police’s lack of respect for press freedom.
As another example, she cited RCMP’s use of illegal no-go zones to prevent journalists from covering arrests at Fairy Creek anti-loggers protests on Vancouver Island in 2021.
“The arrest and detention of Amber Bracken should never have happened,” Linnitt said.
She said Bracken carried an order letter from The Narwhal in her pocket during her arrest and repeatedly identified herself to officers as a member of the press.
RCMP has confirmed that both Bracken and Toledano identified themselves as independent journalists at the scene.
Sean Hern KC, legal counsel for The Narwhal, said the lawsuit seeks damages for Bracken for wrongful arrest and charter violations, both of which are typically “rather low” cash awards, as well as a claim for punitive damages.
“This isn’t about wins or windfalls for The Narwhal or Bracken,” Hern said.
Members of the Wet’suwet’en set up the resistance camp on September 25, 2021 at a Coastal GasLink construction site, halting plans to bore a tunnel under the Wedzin Kwa or Morice river.
Bracken and Toledano were released from custody after agreeing to comply with the terms of an injunction aimed at keeping protesters away from construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline.
In December 2021, Coastal GasLink dropped the civil misconduct charges against Bracken and Toledano, according to documents filed with the BC Supreme Court.
CBC has reached out to the RCMP for comment. A spokesman for the Mounties said that once served with a civil complaint, the Justice Department would review it and issue a defense statement through the appropriate court process.
