Police prepare to clear homeless encampments in Edmonton, on Jan. 9.JASON FRANSON/The Canadian Press
An obstruction charge has been withdrawn against an Edmonton journalist who was arrested while reporting on a police raid of homeless encampments in the city earlier this year.
Brandi Morin, an award-winning journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times, the Guardian and the BBC, was on assignment for Ricochet Media at the time of her arrest on Jan. 10. She had been doing interviews at an Indigenous-led encampment when police arrived.
Her arrest was condemned by numerous press-freedom organizations around the world.
The arrest of Indigenous journalist Brandi Morin chills press freedom in Canada yet again
“It’s a really good day for press freedom,” Ms. Morin said on Friday, hours after she learned that the charge had been withdrawn by the Crown. “It’s a really good day for democracy and the public’s right to know in this country.”
Ms. Morin’s lawyer, Richard Mirasty, said he always believed the Crown would eventually withdraw the charge, which he described as making “a mountain out of a molehill.”
“It really shouldn’t have gone this far,” he said.
By detaining journalists doing their job, police in Canada threaten the public interest
After her arrest, Ms. Morin had said she believed she was targeted as part of “a troubling pattern of police aggression and censorship of journalists,” particularly those covering Indigenous issues.
She said the Crown’s decision not to proceed with the charge was heartening.
“It just goes to show that the press is still valued in this country,” she said. “I was really concerned about the erosion of press freedom, and it’s still at risk. But the decision from the Crown not to proceed really gives us hope.”