Activists who blocked the Jacques-Cartier Bridge: he is out of prison, but the protests are over

Another of the environmentalist demonstrators accused of having completely paralyzed traffic on the Jacques-Cartier Bridge last week in order to denounce fossil fuels was able to be released this morning, on condition of stopping the escalation and above all of no longer participating in gatherings.

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“It’s a violation of his rights, but he had to accept it to get out of a horrible detention center. His co-defendant refused and started a hunger strike, he is now a political prisoner,” commented Mr.^e Barbara Bedont of the defense, this Tuesday, at the Montreal courthouse.

After a week in preventive detention, Jacob Pirro, 24, was back in court in connection with his charge of mischief for climbing the Jacques-Cartier Bridge last week. Accompanied by Olivier Huard, 47, he climbed the structure in the early morning to denounce fossil fuels.

“We want a federal agency to manage climate crises,” the group said. We also want Canada to join the oil non-proliferation treaty. We must stop building new oil infrastructure. We must begin the demobilization of fossil fuel infrastructure.”

Motorists stranded

Except that in passing their message, they blocked tens of thousands of motorists during rush hour, causing massive traffic jams.

According to data obtained by TVA Nouvelles, 437 cancellations were made at the University of Montreal Hospital Center (CHUM), or 2% of appointments scheduled for that day. This was 132 more cancellations than the day before, when there had been no such incident.

After six hours, the duo had been dislodged from the bridge. And unlike the demonstrators arrested for this kind of stunt, the Crown decided to keep them detained. During a first hearing, she affirmed that no conditions could reduce their dangerousness, and that release on bail would undermine public confidence in justice.

However, the prosecution changed its mind along the way to an activist whose role was to act as a link between the police and the climbers. And she did the same for Pirro this Tuesday.

No more demonstrations

To be released, however, the climber accepted the condition of not participating in demonstrations or gatherings of more than three people.

However, behind the scenes, lawyers are concerned about this condition, since demonstrating is a right, and not a privilege. Thus, during the student protests of 2012, those accused could continue to demonstrate, unless the march was declared illegal.

And more recently, the Crown dropped this request for conditions in the case of a pro-Palestinian demonstrator whose child was killed in Gaza before being able to be reunited with her mother in Canada.

“The parties agreed, he could have carried out an investigation, so that there could be a debate [sur cette condition]», explained M^e Annabelle Sheppard, spokesperson for the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions.

She also rejected the defense’s accusations that it was a “political matter”.

“Any decision is taken free from external pressure,” she assured.

Huard, who is the last accused to still be detained preventively, will undergo his release investigation this Thursday.

This afternoon, the Parti Quebecois will present a motion to the National Assembly, to remind us that we live in a democratic society which “values ​​freedom of expression in the public space in a peaceful manner”, but that it must be “exercised in such a way as not to put the safety of the public at risk”.