The circumstances behind the arrest of an environmental journalist at a BC indigenous blockade, will not be investigated by a press watchdog, says Blacklock’s Reporter..John Fraser, chair of the National News Media Council, said it was not the council’s job to “offer general comment on issues.”.“The council deals with unresolved complaints about specific breaches of journalistic standards and does not offer general comment on issues outside its mandate,” said Fraser..Fraser’s remark followed the council’s dismissal of allegations Amber Bracken, a journalist for the environmental advocacy website The Narwhal, joined a pipeline protest in breach of a court order and then failed to identify herself for more than an hour until taken into RCMP custody..Bracken subsequently wrote: “My arrest makes me a big part of a national reckoning with press freedoms.”.“They would take my cameras from me,” wrote Bracken. “After that, my rights.” .The Narwhal subsequently paid a $100 entry fee to submit Bracken’s work for a Canadian Journalism Foundation Jackman Award for Excellence in Journalism..Bracken last November 19 was detained with a CBC freelancer after the pair joined a Wet’suwet’en First Nation protest against construction of British Columbia’s Coastal GasLink pipeline. The Department of Public Safety in a November 25 memo said the journalists spent more than an hour in the company of protesters who made “derogatory” remarks to police, refused to leave and failed to promptly identify themselves as media..“It was not until RCMP members entered the structures and arrested the individuals that they identified themselves as journalists,” said the memo to Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino..Both the RCMP and The Narwhal have declined to answer questions on the case..Bracken, in a December 16 Narwhal article, made no mention of the Public Safety memo and accused police of trampling press freedoms..The article was headlined, “I Felt Kidnapped.”.“Being a photojournalist stripped of my gear in a moment of profound national importance heightened my senses,” wrote Bracken, adding: “My arrest and the arrest of other media covering Wet’suwet’en is part of a pattern of police interference with reporting on indigenous resistance movements.”.“When I was released, headlines across the world celebrated my freedom,” wrote Bracken. She added: “My arrest actually makes me a big part of a national reckoning with press freedoms and what reconciliation means for journalism.”.“I have been reporting on this national story for over three years, but that day I was forced to become part of it. I watched in agony as so many poignant moments slipped by only recorded in my memory. I felt kidnapped. Having never been arrested before it is the best word I can think of to describe being taken so abruptly out of my life and work in violation of Canadian Charter rights protecting freedom of the press.”.Bracken wrote she was detained in a “cramped place,” “a cold cell” and was “supposed to feel small” at the hands of police..“My experience of jail is not unique, but RCMP efforts to suppress press freedom especially around stories that focus on indigenous issues is critically important in this moment,” wrote Bracken..“The police prevented me from doing my job.”
The circumstances behind the arrest of an environmental journalist at a BC indigenous blockade, will not be investigated by a press watchdog, says Blacklock’s Reporter..John Fraser, chair of the National News Media Council, said it was not the council’s job to “offer general comment on issues.”.“The council deals with unresolved complaints about specific breaches of journalistic standards and does not offer general comment on issues outside its mandate,” said Fraser..Fraser’s remark followed the council’s dismissal of allegations Amber Bracken, a journalist for the environmental advocacy website The Narwhal, joined a pipeline protest in breach of a court order and then failed to identify herself for more than an hour until taken into RCMP custody..Bracken subsequently wrote: “My arrest makes me a big part of a national reckoning with press freedoms.”.“They would take my cameras from me,” wrote Bracken. “After that, my rights.” .The Narwhal subsequently paid a $100 entry fee to submit Bracken’s work for a Canadian Journalism Foundation Jackman Award for Excellence in Journalism..Bracken last November 19 was detained with a CBC freelancer after the pair joined a Wet’suwet’en First Nation protest against construction of British Columbia’s Coastal GasLink pipeline. The Department of Public Safety in a November 25 memo said the journalists spent more than an hour in the company of protesters who made “derogatory” remarks to police, refused to leave and failed to promptly identify themselves as media..“It was not until RCMP members entered the structures and arrested the individuals that they identified themselves as journalists,” said the memo to Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino..Both the RCMP and The Narwhal have declined to answer questions on the case..Bracken, in a December 16 Narwhal article, made no mention of the Public Safety memo and accused police of trampling press freedoms..The article was headlined, “I Felt Kidnapped.”.“Being a photojournalist stripped of my gear in a moment of profound national importance heightened my senses,” wrote Bracken, adding: “My arrest and the arrest of other media covering Wet’suwet’en is part of a pattern of police interference with reporting on indigenous resistance movements.”.“When I was released, headlines across the world celebrated my freedom,” wrote Bracken. She added: “My arrest actually makes me a big part of a national reckoning with press freedoms and what reconciliation means for journalism.”.“I have been reporting on this national story for over three years, but that day I was forced to become part of it. I watched in agony as so many poignant moments slipped by only recorded in my memory. I felt kidnapped. Having never been arrested before it is the best word I can think of to describe being taken so abruptly out of my life and work in violation of Canadian Charter rights protecting freedom of the press.”.Bracken wrote she was detained in a “cramped place,” “a cold cell” and was “supposed to feel small” at the hands of police..“My experience of jail is not unique, but RCMP efforts to suppress press freedom especially around stories that focus on indigenous issues is critically important in this moment,” wrote Bracken..“The police prevented me from doing my job.”
