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Lamb v. Benoit et al., [1959] S.C.R. 321

Title

Lamb v. Benoit et al., [1959] S.C.R. 321

Subject

Canada, law, civil rights, religion
Quebec
Jehovah's Witnesses

Description

This is a hyperlink to the Supreme Court of Canada decision in Lamb v. Benoit (1959). Louise Lamb was arrested in 1946 while distributing pamphlets on the street in Quebec. Police believed she was distributing the pamphlet “Quebec’s Burning Hate” which was considered
seditious. She was not actually distributing this pamphlet. She was held in jail over a weekend, and then police offered to release her without charge if she agreed to sign a release of liability for her detention. She refused to sign, and she was then charged with publishing and as being a party to a conspiracy to publish the pamphlet "Quebec's Burning Hate". The charges were later dismissed at a preliminary inquiry. She then sued the police officers involved. The Supreme Court of Canada upheld her action and awarded her $2500 in damages.

This case forms part of set of cases that were described as creating Canada's implied bill of rights.

She then brought an action against the police that had arrested her. The Supreme Court

supported her action and assessed the damages at $2500.

Creator

Supreme Court of Canda

Source

Lexum
Canada's Human Rights History
Supreme Court of Canada, Lamb v. Benoit et al., [1959] S.C.R. 321

Publisher

Supreme Court of Canada
Lexum: https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/7356/index.do
Canada's Human Rights History:http://historyofrights.ca/wp-content/uploads/cases/lamb.pdf

Date

1959

Rights

(c) Supreme Court of Canada
Lexum
Canada Human Rights History

Format

Hyperlink

Language

English
French

Type

Hyperlink

Original Format

Text

Files

Citation

Supreme Court of Canda, “Lamb v. Benoit et al., [1959] S.C.R. 321,” Exhibits, accessed November 21, 2024, https://exhibits.library.utoronto.ca/items/show/2292.