A photo of Toronto lawyer Caryma S'ad.
A photo of Toronto lawyer Caryma S'ad. Credit: Caryma S'ad Credit: Caryma S'ad

Toronto lawyer and political activist Caryma Sa’d was arrested on Thursday May 26 by the Hamilton Police at the John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport while protesting a campaign event for Ontario Progressive Conservative party leader Doug Ford.

In an interview with rabble.ca, Sa’d said: “I wanted to attend Doug Ford’s rally because it’s an extension of the political satire and public legal education work that I enjoy sharing online. I had no intention of disrupting the event, although I would have posed a question if given the opportunity.”  

Based in Toronto, Sa’d is a lawyer who frequently represents tenants who are participating in housing litigation. She is also politically active as an editorial cartoonist, and has also spent parts of the pandemic documenting and countering the anti-mask, anti-mandate movement.

A 2021 profile piece in NOW! describes Sa’d as “online savvy,” a skill which she has used to great effect not only in her profession as a lawyer, but also to advocate for social justice causes.

More recently, Sa’d was featured in Canadian Lawyer Magazine for her weeks-long on-site reporting on the Truck Convoy protest that took place in February of this year and live-tweeted the bail hearings for convoy organizers Pat King and Tamara Lich.

A statement from the Hamilton Police Service states that Sa’d was participating in a protest at the airport and was arrested and charged and ticketed for trespassing after refusing to vacate the roadway. But Sa’d says that statement wasn’t true. Sa’d states that she was not there to protest, but to attend Ford’s rally as an invited guest. 

“Hamilton Police issued a press release rife with inaccuracies, including that I was with a group of protesters trying to block the road. I was an invited guest trying to understand who revoked my permission to attend and why,” Sa’d said.

A video posted to Sa’d’s Twitter account shows a video of her arrest, which appears to show a Hamilton police officer roughly removing her phone from her hands as they are cuffed behind her back.

“I am a combination of shocked, upset, and embarrassed by the arrest. Having reviewed the footage, I don’t understand why there was a physical encounter or handcuffing,” said Sa’d. “I don’t think the matter was handled appropriately, in that it shouldn’t have escalated to physicality. I will be setting the matter down for trial. As far as other recourse, I will consult with counsel and decide on next steps.”

Prior to her arrest, Sa’d was asked by an individual at the event to leave the property.

“We know who you are. You’re all over Twitter. We know what’s going on,” said that unidentified man in another video posted by Sa’d.

A video taken prior to her arrest shows Sa’d attempting to enter the event at the airport. Hamilton Police deny her entry to the event in that video, during which Sa’d also claims to have a printed invitation in hand.

According to Ford’s Twitter account the event held on Thursday was free to the public and his campaign website allowed anyone who wanted to attend to RSVP to the event.

This is not the first protest of Ford that Sa’d has attended during this election campaign. Last Monday, May 17, S’ad was present in Toronto when security personnel and police officers clashed with protesters outside of the Television Ontario (TVO) studios during the leaders debate. 

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Nick Seebruch

Nick Seebruch has been the editor of rabble.ca since April 2022. He believes that fearless independent journalism is key for the survival of a healthy democracy. An OCNA award-winning journalist, for...