Coop média de Montréal

Journalisme indépendant

More independent news:
Do you want free independent news delivered weekly? sign up now
Can you support independent journalists with $5? donate today!

Ex-student spokesperson Nadeau-Dubois found guilty of contempt

Judge finds he illegally encouraged students to ignore injunction against picket lines

by Tim McSorley

Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, ex-spokesperson for the CLASSE, faces up to a year in court and $50,000 in fines. PHOTO: Madoc facebook.com/madocstudio.com
Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, ex-spokesperson for the CLASSE, faces up to a year in court and $50,000 in fines. PHOTO: Madoc facebook.com/madocstudio.com

(Updates at bottom)

Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, the ex-student spokesperson who for many became the face of the Quebec student movement this past spring, was found guilty of contempt of court today.

During the strike, Nadeau-Dubois was accused of contempt for allegedly encouraging students to disobey an injunction banning picket lines at the Université de Laval in Quebec City. The student who filed the injunction, Jean-François Morasse, said that Nadeau-Dubois' statement during an interview on the Réseau de l'information explicitly encouraged students to break the law. After hearing the case in the fall, today Quebec Superior Court Judge Denis Jacques issued a written ruling saying he agreed.
 
Morasse's lawyer has asked for a prison sentence for Nadeau-Dubois. The sentencing hearing will be in Quebec City on November 9. He faces up to a year in prison, but that could also be commuted to a fine of up to $5,000 or community service.
 
The Association pour une Solidarité Syndicale Étudiante (ASSÉ), which was at the heart of the organization for which Nadeau-Dubois was the spokesperson, denounced the ruling. In a release, they said that they stand by Nadeau-Dubois and that his words at the time were a reflection of the stance of the entire organization, and not simply his own. They also state that they will be working with Nadeau-Dubois to see what possible recourse he may have, including supporting him in an appeal. Nadeau-Dubois has said he will react publicly tomorrow.
 
Nadeau-Dubois' statement to RDI that resulted in the accusation was the following: 
 
"It is regretable that a small minority of students are using the courts to circumvent the collective decision that was taken. We therefore find it completely legitimate that people take the necessary measures to ensure the strike vote is respected. If that requires picket lines, we believe that'ss completely legitimate."
 
Nadeau-Dubois is one of 3,000 other people who face charges or were found guilty of crimes during the student strike, which lasted from February to early September. Since the tuition fee hike was rolled back by the Parti Québécois after their election on Sept. 4, l'ASSÉ and others have turned their attention to getting the charges against those 3,000 people dropped, as well as calling for a public, independent inquiry into police actions during the strike.
 
UPDATE (5:50pm): There are now calls for "casseroles" demonstrations in support of Nadeau-Dubois and all other arrestees tonight at 8pm, to converge at Carré Émilie-Gamelin at 8:30pm. ASSÉ also published the following on their Facebook feed:
En cette journée sombre pour la démocratie, rappelons-nous que Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois fait partie d'un ensemble: celui des victimes de la judiciarisation inacceptable de la grève, qui aura vu des milliers et des milliers d'étudiant-e-s et de citoyen-ne-s arrêté-e-s... pour quoi? Pour avoir participé à des actions de perturbation économique, pour avoir refusé de reculer devant une ligne d'anti-émeutes, pour avoir enfreint le code 500.1 et le reste d'un appareil de répression légal, pour avoir défié, jour après jour, un système injuste.

Pour avoir, tout simplement, choisi la voie de la résistance.

Solidarité avec Gabriel et nos camarades.

UPDATE (6:00pm): An earlier version of this story said that Nadeau-Dubois could face up to $50,000 in fines. While he could be fined, the total would amount to only $5,000.
File attachments:

Socialize:
Want more grassroots coverage?
Join the Media Co-op today.
547 words

Commentaires

A win for individual freedoms

A student has the right to not be part of a union, attend classes and not be bullied and intimidated while doing so, and anyone infringing on these rights should be punishable by law.
Protest all you want but do not intimidate or infringe on other peoples rights while doing it.

Most important lesson / information about Canada which most don'

Most important lesson / information about CANADA which most don't know or have forgotten.

1. definition of GOVERNMENT;
Derived from the Latin verb Guverno, Guvernare meaning "To Control"
And
The Latin noun Mens, Mentis meaning "Mind"
To Control The Mind

2. The Supreme Law of Canada, The CONSTITUTION ACT of 1982 clearly states:
1982, c. 11 (U.K.), Schedule B
PART I
CANADIAN CHARTER OF RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS
 Whereas Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law:

And,
“Application of Charter
    32. (1) This Charter applies
        (a) to the Parliament and government of Canada in respect of all matters within the authority of Parliament including all matters relating to the Yukon Territory and Northwest Territories; and
        (b) to the legislature and government of each province in respect of all matters within the authority of the legislature of each province.”

If this is not clear enough the Supreme Court of Canada clearly states that Government has no right to interfere in "private" matters and it is clearly meant to throttle Government and agents thereof:

R. v. Dell, 2005 ABCA 246
Application of the Charter to Interactions Between Private Citizens
[8] The second exception to the general rule that the Charter does not apply between private individuals occurs when a private person can be categorized as “part of government” because he or she is performing a specific government function: Buhay at para. 25, citing Eldridge v. British Columbia (Attorney General), 1997 CanLII 327 (SCC), [1997] 3 S.C.R. 624. In Eldridge, at para. 43, the Court noted that the Charter will only apply to a private entity if it is found to be implementing a specific governmental policy or program. The Court in Buhay, at para. 31, observed that this exception would apply if there were an express delegation of a public function to a private person or if the state were to abandon, in whole or in part, an essential public function to the private sector.

3. Let’s not forget section 52 of the CANADIAN Constitution:
52. (1) The Constitution of Canada is the supreme law of Canada, and any law that is inconsistent with the provisions of the Constitution is, to the extent of the inconsistency, of no force or effect.

Therefore "private" individuals are NOT subject to Statutory Law. Only GOVERNMENT officials, employees, agents and those working in a Government capacity AT THE TIME are. Let's be blatantly clear ... all legislation, acts, statures etc. is there to make sure Government doesn't break the law. It doesn't matter when or where you are, Government must prove you are working in a Government capacity in order to charge you.

ALL officers and agents are Obligated to produce their badge and number, wallet ID and business card on request or demand BEFORE any interaction, unless it's a matter of breaching the peace (outright fight with flying fists), actual crime is being committed (theft, damages, trespass, etc), or investigating a REPORTED crime. All other matters are under inherent rights, common law and civil law ... where Government has no right to be or interfere.

Now that you know this you have the option of "charging" any Government agent or entity whatever you think it's worth (50, 100, 500, 1000 dollars per hour) and charging them under their own codes for whatever crime they have committed against you.
Keep in mind the individual who received 10 million for RCMP breaching his rights ... something about a turban.

BTW: in Statutory court it's only a Justice of the Peace or Administrator at the front of the court ... not a Judge. Hence a public employee. This includes a guy like Harper .. a public servant, nothing more.

It's the only way you are going to win against any corrupt entity.
Don't take my word for any of this ... look it up yourself. It's all there in black and white.

Minor reference: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNaylkMe6HQ

The site for the Montreal local of The Media Co-op has been archived and will no longer be updated. Please visit the main Media Co-op website to learn more about the organization.