International Free Press Society (IFPS)
Despite various attempts to intimidate and otherwise dissuade Free Thinking Film Society’s ticket sellers from providing tickets for the event, the show went on in Ottawa on March 22, 2011. It was not without drama, however.
As noted by Free Thinking Film Society President, Fred Litwin, in his introductory remarks, for the first time in 4 years of hosting events protesters came out for one of his shows. Among the handful of protesters were two particularly bold malcontents who were not satisfied with remaining on the outside. They decided to pay their $20 and come in and heckle from the inside.
They were allowed to enter on the condition that they would not disrupt the event but alas, they were unable to control their outbursts. After several warnings and repeated requests that they hold their comments for the question and answer portion of the event, their righteous indignation got the better of them and to wild applause, they were escorted out of the auditorium by police.
In advertising this event, our tagline was “When rule of law is allowed to break down, freedom of speech doesn’t stand a chance”. This has certainly been the case over the last 6 years in Caledonia where the victims were effectively silenced as the OPP stood down in the face of lawlessness. How satisfying then for the people of Caledonia and the activists who fought to restore their rights, that the Ottawa police stood up and allowed them to have their say.
Fred Litwin and the Free Thinking Film Society hosted an event that was informative and entertaining and was well worth the price of admission, even for the two protesters who were provided with an opportunity to learn what “a real police force looks like”, as Mark Vandermaas noted.
Video and pictures of the evening can be seen here and here.