Winnipeg anti-restriction rally goes ahead despite speaker Maxime Bernier's arrest
Despite the arrest of its headline speaker, an anti-restriction rally in Winnipeg went on Saturday afternoon.
Originally slated to be part of federal candidate Maxime Bernier's "Mad Max Manitoba Tour," about 200 people gathered at The Forks.
"We are not against you. We are for two things; we are here for the truth, and we are for transparency," said Jordan Hammond, a speaker at the rally.
Maxime Bernier, leader of the People's Party of Canada, was set to headline the rally but was arrested outside St.-Pierre-Jolys, a small village 57 kilometres south of Winnipeg, on Friday.
RCMP said Bernier was arrested for breaking the Public Health Act and failing to quarantine.
In a statement from his party, Bernier said, "I knew I risked being arrested in Manitoba after the threatening letter I got from the province's public health official and declarations from local despot Brian Pallister. But it's still a shock when it happens, when the police treat you like a criminal and handcuff you because you dared talking to a dozen people outdoors in a small village half an hour before."
Bernier was released Saturday morning and took the first flight home to Montreal, according to the party. The party said he had to pay a $1000 cash bail and agree not to break any laws in Manitoba.
In a news release, the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, which is representing Bernier, said the court denied other conditions proposed by the crown.
"Mr. Bernier, who is campaigning in preparation of an anticipated federal election, is obviously entitled to criticize the existing lockdowns and draconian restrictions, and governments which impose them, which have been tyrannically impacting the rights and freedoms of Canadians for 15 months," said John Carpay, president of the centre.
Bernier will appear before a Winnipeg court on June 27 in regards to the two tickets he received.
CTV News reached out to the province and was told Manitoba Justice and enforcement officials continue to investigate all large gatherings and rallies they are made aware of. It did not comment on Bernier's remarks.
As for the rally, it ended without any major incidents.
"We stand here unified as sons and daughters of the living God whose rights cannot be taken from us no matter what government does to us," said Hammond while addressing the crowd.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.