Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, the most radical of the Quebec student leaders of the 2012 protest movement, has now had a contempt-of-court conviction decisively thrown out by the Supreme Court of Canada.
The conviction stemmed from an interview he gave to Radio-Canada while the 2012 protests against a planned tuition hike were at their peak. He encouraged protesters to form picket lines and prevent students from going to class, even if they had a court injunction banning protest.
A Laval university student, Jean-François Morasse, had obtained an injunction to make sure he would be allowed back into his classes, even after students there voted to boycott their classes in protest.
Nadeau-Dubois was found guilty in Quebec Superior Court in November 2012, and ordered to perform 120 hours of community service.
That ruling was overturned by the Court of Appeal in January 2015.
On Thursday, in a 6-3 decision, justices at the Supreme Court upheld that dismissal, suggesting there was no proof that Nadeau-Dubois was aware of Morasse's court injunction when he gave the TV interview.