A nearly four-year legal battle involving a journalist charged in connection with protests at the Muskrat Falls site in the fall of 2016 is now over.
Justin Brake posted to twitter today that he was informed by the Crown this morning that a provincial court judge did not wish to submit evidence in his case.
The outstanding charge was criminal mischief > $5,000. The charges brought against me represented a significant threat to #pressfreedom in Canada and were cited by @RSF_inter as a reason for Canada's drop out of the top 20 countries in the 2017 World Press Freedom Index 2/x
— Justin Brake (@JustinBrakeNews) June 30, 2020
Brake was charged with mischief and disobeying a court order for his coverage of a lengthy protest at the site.
A charge of criminal contempt against him was subsequently dropped.
Brake followed a group of Labrador Land Protectors opposed to the project onto the site as part of his coverage. He was with the Independent at the time, he is now a reporter with APTN.
Brake says journalists must have access to spaces where Indigenous people defend their lands, waters, and ways of life.
Concurrently, an international movement has amplified the voices of Black and Indigenous people of colour, including journalists, who have long called for racial equality. In addition to hiring more racialized journalists in our newsrooms, it is also our duty… 8/x
— Justin Brake (@JustinBrakeNews) June 30, 2020
View Justin Brake’s full comments on Twitter at this link.