We just sued the RCMP. ⬇️

On a chilly winter day in November 2021, news broke that Amber Bracken ( @photobracken ) had been arrested by the RCMP while reporting for The Narwhal from Wet’suwet’en territory in northwestern B.C. Uproar ensued.

Amber’s arrest sparked international media attention, outrage from press freedom organizations and an all-hands-on-deck legal effort to get her out of jail. Thousands of our readers wrote letters to government officials demanding her release. Hundreds donated for legal aid.

As a small, non-profit news organization, we didn’t want to have to bring a lengthy, expensive litigation against one of the most powerful organizations in our country. But ultimately we realized we had no other choice.

To not move forward with this case would be to turn our backs on what’s right — and to turn our backs on all the stories that happen in remote places without the watchful eyes of journalists, due to the chilling effect of arrests like these.

All too often, these incidents also involve Indigenous Rights. Previous court rulings have been clear: the arrest of Indigenous Peoples on their lands concerns every single person in this country — and should be a matter of public record, not hidden behind police lines.

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. Let’s be clear: we would never have been able to take this bold step without the support of our thousands of readers, donors and members.

Today, when we walked into a courthouse in Vancouver to file our court documents, we imagined thousands of you walking with us, hand in hand in this mission to hold the RCMP accountable.

This is going to be a long journey, and we invite you to walk with us. 1. Sign up for our live online event on Wednesday: 2. Make a donation to our legal defence fund:

If you have burning questions about the case, check out our FAQ page. If you can’t find your answer there, send us a message.