hundreds of people ticketed on may day for violating montréal’s anti-protest law

by Tim Phillips

Montréal police ticketed 447 protesters yesterday, at $634 apiece, for participating in a May Day march. The march violated Montréal’s P-6 municipal bylaw, because no one provided the route to police for approval 24 hours in advance. According to the Montréal Gazette,

The city’s Anti-Capitalist Convergence (CLAC), which organized the International Workers’ Day march, said it does not file march routes with authorities as a matter of principle. In a news release, it said P-6 represses civil liberties, and is “only the latest instance of the repressive tendencies of the political elite.”

First introduced in 2001, a new version of bylaw P-6 went into effect in May 2012. Police have consistently used it against protesters. In addition to prohibiting masks and blunt objects, it stipulates that any demonstration can be declared illegal if police have reasonable grounds to believe it will cause a “commotion” or endanger public order.