Catching Up with the Canadian Man Fighting for His Right to Fly a ‘Fuck Harper’ Sign

Read: If We Want to Ask Stephen Harper Questions, We Have to Give Him $59,000

This article originally appeared on VICE Canada.

There are many ways to protest. You can start a petition, host a sit-in, or, if you're a disgruntled Canadian, hang a neon pink "Fuck Harper" sign on the inside of your hatchback.

The latter is what Edmonton activist Rob Wells chose to do when he embarked on a recent road trip, a stunt that made national headlines and landed him a $543 fine for, well, "stunting."

Wells received widespread support in the aftermath of the incident, even inspiring a (failed) crowdfunding campaign to cover the costs of the penalty he incurred.

But that's OK because he has no intention of paying the ticket; his plan is to fight it using a Charter of Rights and Freedoms defense.

VICE caught up with the "mature" (he won't tell us his age) Edmontonian to talk politics, signage, and human rights.

VICE: You describe yourself as an activist. What issues are you interested in?
Rob Wells: Gay-straight alliances in schools. Equal marriage. I don't really have a list offhand. I'm really concerned about the Harper government denying basic human rights and medical care to refugees, which is disgusting.

Can you go into more detail about your beefs with the Harper government?
It would take all day to list them all. To summarize, it's the complete contempt that this prime minister has shown the constitution, to the Charter of Rights, and to the courts. I believe that it's the hallmark of fascism.

Why did you choose hot pink poster board for the "Fuck Harper" sign?
I had some orange, but that would be associated with a political party, and if I had red, that would be another political party, and I sure as hell wasn't going to use blue.

How did you end up getting ticketed?
A lady who rudely gave me the middle finger accused me of being distracting. She looked over and gave me the middle finger, and not subtly, it was a violent finger up and she started mouthing some words at me. She posted on Facebook that she's the one that called the police.

So what happened when the cops caught up to you?
First thing the [officer] said was "What's up with the sign?" Then he accused me of distracting people with my sign and I told him it's not illegal, it's been thoroughly reviewed by the top lawyers in the province, including the current deputy attorney general in Alberta.

You had all these people review the sign?
No. Many years ago when [Alberta] Premier Ralph Klein brought in Bill 11 to enable private hospitals in Alberta, I made a similar sign. It said, "Fuck Ralph," and the other side said, "No private hospitals." And I got harassed by the police and ticketed. When it was finally reviewed by the legal experts, it was determined that it wasn't stunting and it wasn't a criminal act. Finally the Edmonton Police Service had to issue a directive to leave people with offensive political bumper stickers alone.

How are you planning on fighting the ticket?
I've given notice [to the crown prosecutor] that I'll be raising a Charter of Rights defense, that's just in starting the process with the hearing for the ticket. The other thing is, I've filed a complaint of misconduct against the officer for political harassment and extortion. It's simply a matter of free expression. If we can't criticize our political leaders in this country, we're no better than North Korea.

How will you be voting in the upcoming election?
It's as simple as ABC: Anybody but the Conservatives.

This interview has been edited for style and clarity.

Follow Manisha Krishnan on Twitter.