"In filing this lawsuit, our goal is to clear a path for all journalists in Canada to do their work without risk of police interference".

"Many of you may remember the moment: it was a chilly winter day in November 2021 when news broke that photojournalist Amber Bracken had been arrested by the RCMP while reporting for The Narwhal from Wet’suwet’en territory in northwestern B.C.

Uproar ensued: international media attention, outrage from press freedom organizations and an all-hands-on-deck legal effort to get Amber out of jail. Thousands of people wrote letters to federal and provincial officials demanding Amber’s release and hundreds donated to aid in her legal defence.

After three nights in jail, Amber was released. About a month later, just before Christmas, charges against her were quietly dropped. But the battle didn’t end there.

Today The Narwhal and Amber Bracken have filed a lawsuit in British Columbia’s Supreme Court against the RCMP for wrongful arrest, wrongful detention and violation of our Charter rights."

Emma Gilchrist reports for The Narwhal February 13, 2023. [2]