In January 2014, we reported on a decision of the Alberta
Provincial Court acquitting on criminal charges of trespass eight
members of an anti-abortion organization engaged in demonstrations
in the Calgary Airport in 2011. The protesters had reasonably
believed they were permitted to demonstrate on Airport premises
given a 1991 decision of the Supreme Court of Canada (Committee
for the Commonwealth of Canada v. Canada) which concluded that
prohibiting the distribution of political pamphlets at an airport
violated freedom of expression under the Canadian Charter of
Rights and Freedoms.
It had been argued that the circumstances were distinguishable
from the Committee case, as major Canadian airports at the
time were run by the federal government, while they are presently
run by private, non-profit corporations on leased federal land.
However, the court concluded that given the
"substantial" government control exercised over the
Authority, it was "part of government"
