Lamb v. Benoit et al., [1959] S.C.R. 321
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.
Supreme Court of Canada, Lamb v. Benoit et al., [1959] S.C.R. 321
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