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Olympic pride: an Orwellian perspective

Nova Scotia residents say RCMP violated their right to protest

You’d be hard pressed to find too many Canadians who would say the Olympic torch is, above all, a symbol of Orwellian police treatment. But that’s what two Antigonish, N.S., residents are saying, after what they describe as a “bizarre” run-in with the RCMP over the anti-Olympic posters they put around town. Jesse Campbell and Rachelle Enxuga say they were contacted by the RCMP after putting up the posters; officials, they insist, had collected detailed information on their personal identities and anti-Olympic organizing. “Just keeping tabs on a community discussion group in that way, I find a little bit Orwellian,” Campbell explains. He adds that he thinks money being used for the Vancouver Olympic Games would be better spent on housing and social programs. The RCMP says it is standard course for officers to investigate groups that may pose a threat to public safety. “Before an event and throughout an event, we gather information and we seek to either confirm or disregard individuals as a potential threat to the safety and security of the torch relay, or any other public event,” said RCMP spokeswoman Sgt. Brigdit Leger. On Tuesday, the Olympic torched made its way through Antigonish; there were no disruptions.

 

CBC

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