While the Charter protects many of the rights that are crucial to effective protest, laws limit this right in very real ways.
Civic space is the space outside a society’s government where people come together to organise and engage in conversation around their political, economic and social life. Civic space allows people to contribute to policy-making that affects their lives, including accessing information, engaging in dialogue, expressing dissent or disagreement, and joining together to express their views.
Like in many other countries, civic space in Canada is currently under pressure. We are noticing increased legislation and law enforcement tactics that silence dissenting opinions and disruptive protests, which are actually peaceful. This is a serious concern, as restrictions on civic space weakens democratic institutions and processes by limiting public participation and accountability.
We only have the right to vote every few years, but protests provide opportunities to express our views and grievances at any time.
CCLA has published a Know Your Rights Guide to help you understand your rights, and be better prepared.
Police should not be able to see a peaceful protester, throw them to the ground, hurt them, and then arrest them, even if it is to prevent violence by others. We saw police abuse this authority in Toronto during the 2010 G20 by arresting over a thousand peaceful protesters.
At a protest, Randy Fleming was thrown to the ground and forcefully detained by multiple police officers, even though he had done nothing wrong. Multiple officers physically brought him down and one even used his body weight to restrain him by putting his knee on Randy’s face. The police said they did this in order to prevent violence by others. In our quest for justice, we joined Randy Fleming all the way up to the Supreme Court in the first ruling in Canadian history to address police powers in such circumstances.
In October of 2019. Randy finally got justice.
It was the first Supreme Court ruling in Canadian history to address police powers in such circumstances, and CCLA was in court fighting for the freedom to protest peacefully without being hurt, thrown to the ground, and arrested.
© 2026 CCLA.
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