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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A Yellowknife blogger who was ticketed for unsafely passing a parade of protestors in his vehicle was found guilty Tuesday and is expected to pay a fine of $100.

Yellowknife blogger George Lessard has been fighting a ticket he received after passing a parade in March. On Tuesday he was found guilty of unsafe movement of a vehicle. - Miranda Scotland/NNSL photo

George Lessard was initially ticketed for overtaking a vehicle improperly back on March 11 while he was videotaping a demonstration about the robo-call scandal, which was being escorted down Franklin Avenue by police cruisers.

The ticket was later amended to driving without due care and attention and then to unsafe movement of a vehicle.

Justice of the Peace Kevin Dennis ruled Tuesday evening that on that charge Lessard was guilty.

"I think you made a poor decision in passing two emergency vehicles with emergency lights flashing," he said. "Don't do it because it's not a good idea."

The decision came after the court heard from Const. Jamie Fudge, who issued the latest ticket, and Gail Cyr, who took part in the march.

Cyr testified that she did not see Lessard pass the parade and nothing drew her attention to him. She added that she didn't feel his actions threatened her personal safety.

The officer, on the other hand, said Lessard was being unsafe when he pulled into the northbound lane, which was still open to vehicles, and passed the crowd at about 15 km/h.

After the hearing, Lessard said he had no objection to the verdict but that this was just the beginning. He said he is considering taking the municipal enforcement officers to civil or territorial court for their actions during the incident.

"That phase is over, yay! Now we can go on to the second phase," he said.

On the day of the protest, after Lessard passed the parade he was stopped by a red light. At that point a municipal enforcement officer approached his truck from behind on foot, knocked on his window and asked for his driver's licence. Lessard said the officer looked at it and told him to drive to city hall and wait for him there.

But Lessard refused, saying he wouldn't drive without his license, which was still in the officer's possession. So the officer put him in the back of the municipal enforcement vehicle and asked his co-worker to take Lessard's truck to city hall.

According to Lessard, lawyers say the officers were in the wrong when they took his vehicle without proper procedure and detained him without reading him his rights.

"I've been told that as far as their actions are concerned I can to small claims court," Lessard previously told the Yellowknifer. "I want a public apology, a public admittance of wrongdoing by the officers and corrective measures done by city hall."

Lessard said Wednesday he isn't sure exactly when he will be taking the issue to court but he has started looking into it.

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