Man arrested inside Bank Street abortion clinic safe zone
CBC News | Posted: February 7, 2018 10:30 PM | Last Updated: February 8, 2018
Police say it's the first arrest they've made under the new rules
Ottawa police arrested a man outside the Morgentaler Clinic Wednesday afternoon and charged him under a new law intended to establish safe zones around abortion clinics.
Police had received several complaints about the man, who was standing near the Bank Street clinic, an Ottawa Police Service spokesperson said.
It's the first arrest Ottawa police have made under the Safe Access to Abortion Services Act, which bans protesting within a 50-metre radius of an abortion clinic.
Police said the man in question had been warned about his presence outside the clinic since Feb. 1, when the safe zone rules were first implemented, and has been one of the more consistent demonstrators outside of it over the months.
He was again warned on Wednesday and later charged with five offences under the new act despite not directly addressing abortion in his signs.
Details about the specific charges were not immediately available.
He is expected to appear in court in March.