New Brunswick anti-fracking protests | Amnesty International Canada

30.10.13

New Brunswick anti-fracking protests | Amnesty International Canada: Finally, in regard to policing of protests, it is important to be mindful that while police have an obligation to protect public safety and respond to criminal offences, they also have a clear responsibility to respect and protect human rights. Police must respect the right of peaceful protest and assembly and act to protect the lives and safety of those involved in protests. Use of force must always be a last resort and the scale and nature of the force deployed must be in proportion to the need to protect public safety. Critically, police should not be called on to enforce legal claims of governments or corporations where the foundations of these claims is legitimately in question.

Lessons have been learned from previous tragic instances of failing to respect those rights in times of protest. The 2007 report from the Ipperwash Inquiry in Ontario lays out an important rights-based framework for policing in contexts such as the situation unfolding at Elsipogtog. From Ipperwash to Elsipogtog; we cannot let those lessons be forgotten.