The Man who (allegedly) said fuck

Charges of swearing in public continue for anti-Bill C-51 activist

by Miles Howe

Did you know you can be charged with saying fuck? Joe Currie, pictured here, continues to fight such charges. His next scheduled court date is February 5th, in Halifax. [Photo: Miles Howe]

WARNING!!! - This article contains the word 'fuck'.

KJIPUKTUK (Halifax) -- Fuck. The word, whether we like it not or use it or not, is pretty much part of our common vernacular. We use the word fuck, in a variety of contexts, which we don't really need to get into here. And, like most words, we take our right to say fuck largely for granted.

But, did you know, that under the right circumstances, you can be arrested and charged, just for saying fuck?

Section 175, paragraph 1, subsection a of the Canadian Criminal Code cites swearing among the offenses that can land you with a causing a disturbance charge.

Now, you probably haven't heard of anyone getting charged under the criminal code, for saying fuck, and you've probably heard the word fuck being said in public more than once, probably even today.

But, consider the case of Joe Currie. Last June, 2015, Currie was participating in an anti- Bill C-51 rally. The rally was meandering back and forth through a crosswalk on Spring Garden Road, in downtown Halifax, and was halting traffic.

Halifax Regional Police arrived on the scene and proceeded to slam Currie up against a fence and arrest him. The charge against Currie? Saying fuck in public.

Currie continues to fight the charge and the next court date is scheduled for February 5th, at the provincial courthouse in Halifax. I caught up with Currie to talk about his charge outside the courthouse.

Due to the shoe string budget of our website, you can only listen to the attached audio interview on a laptop or home computer. You can download it to your phone or tablet, however. Sorry!

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