Rebel News reporter David Menzies was recently arrested while he attempted to interview Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland on a public sidewalk in Richmond Hill, Ontario. The incident has raised questions regarding how the constitution guarantees a free press.

In the attached video the reporters path is blocked by a plain clothes officer which causes an interaction which is partially captured in frame. The officer is seen and heard to be advising the reporter that he is under arrest for assaulting a police officer.

In order to effect an arrest an officer must have reasonable and probable grounds to believe an offence has occurred. In this case it must be shown the act or offence occurred, and that there was an intent to commit the offence. Accidently walking into someone on a sidewalk is not an assault. What’s concerning is that this incident appears to have been planned by the officer who blocks the reporters path. In doing so the officer applies force intentionally which could constitute an assault under section 266 of the Criminal Code. The officer could also be committing the offence of intimidation under section 423 of the criminal code, as the reporter has a Charter guaranteed right to engage in the press.

This incident raises several serious questions about the freedom of the press and the potential consequences of questioning the government. The integrity of the police and whether they are acting independently of political influence is also very much unclear at times.