BY KEITH LACEY
Sudbury?s most outspoken social activist says police had no right to arrest a young man protesting the provincial government earlier this week.
Tuesday afternoon, the Sudbury Coalition Against Poverty (SCAP) organized a small protest against Jim Flaherty Ontario?s Minister of Enterprise, Opportunity and Innovation and the Tory government.
Flaherty was filling in for Premier Ernie Eves at a $175-a-plate fundraising barbecue at the Ambassador Hotel when dozens of SCAP protestors and supporters confronted him.
Earlier in the day Flaherty had announced $83.8 million in funding to complete the capital construction project at the Sudbury Regional Hospital.
Activist Jamie Rhiness was arrested by police and charged with the criminal code offence of creating a disturbance by uttering profanities, said Greater Sudbury Police Staff Sgt. Al Asunmaa.
Kinsman said he didn?t hear profanity being used by any protestor, but admits the word ?pig? was used and this was what likely led to Rhiness?s arrest.
When Rhiness was taken into custody, he was denied food and a blanket. He spent an uncomfortable night in custody as the holding cells had cement floors and the air conditioning had been turned on, said Kinsman.
The fact a young man using his democratic right to participate in a peaceful demonstration was arrested and taken into custody for 16 hours before being released is very troubling, said Kinsman.
?This is, unfortunately, part of a growing trend here in Sudbury and all across Canada where citizens are being denied their right to participate in political protest and political dissent.
?I?m very worried about any trampling of an individual?s democratic rights,? he said.
Asunmaa, who witnessed the arrest of Rhiness, said police were simply doing their job.
?He was charged with causing a disturbance by uttering swear words while in possession of a megaphone,? he
said.
?As a police service, we have no problems with people involved in peaceful protests, but the officer involved decided there was sufficient grounds for laying a charge of causing a disturbane...?
People taken into custody are always given food and blankets if requested, although some people processed late in the evening do have to wait until morning when breakfast is served, said Asunmaa.
Police were called to the scene by a member of the public. They have a duty to take control of a situation where someone might be attempting to turn a peaceful demonstration into a hostile environment, said Asunmaa.
?If we are called to a scene by a member of the public and we feel someone is causing a disturbance, then that person will be charged with that criminal offence,? he said. ?It was this officer?s opinion a disturbance was being created and an arrest was made.?
When the charge of creating a disturbance has been issued against members of SCAP and other supporters in the past, police have almost always dealt with the matter by issuing a ticket and there?s no criminal charge laid, said Kinsman.
Several witnesses heard another police officer utter a profanity at a protestor, making the charge laid against Rhiness hypocritical and laughable, said Kinsman.
A formal complaint may be laid against the officer in question, he said.
Kinsman said he thinks police clamped down on Tuesday?s protest after it was discovered many protestors had a face-to-face discussion with Flaherty.
?We formed a regular protest line and Mr. Flaherty came right up to us and had a brief discussion,? he said. ?
At no time did the protest get out of control and the entrance to the hotel parking lot and main entrance to the
building was never blocked, said Kinsman.
?What happened is this one officer walked right up to Jamie, told him he was creating a disturbance and, with the help of two other officers, placed him under arrest,? he said.
