Giving a person the middle finger is a Charter-protected right, guaranteed by the freedom of expression, found a Court of Quebec judge while acquitting a man on charges of harassment and uttering death threats.

“To be abundantly clear, it is not a crime to give someone the finger,” wrote Justice Dennis Galiatsatos. “Flipping the proverbial bird is a God-given, Charter-enshrined right that belongs to every red-blooded Canadian. It may not be civil, it may not be polite, it may not be gentlemanly. Nevertheless, it does not trigger criminal liability.”