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And so, in the middle of this utterly disheartening election campaign, there comes a welcome ray of light.

An institution, in this case a court, has done what Canadian politicians and political parties find so achingly difficult to do — that is, the palpably, plain-as-the-nose-on-your-face right thing.

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tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Christie Blatchford: Justice at last for Caledonia man arrested for carrying a Canadian flag Back to video

It is a unanimous decision, bitingly written by Justice Suzanne Cote from the Supreme Court of Canada and it puts a shine — a happy ending — on the disgraceful 10-year-long ordeal of Randy Fleming.

Fleming was arrested by a half-dozen Ontario Provincial Police officers on May 24, 2009, wrestled to the ground, hands cuffed behind his back and permanently injured, transported to a nearby detachment and kept in a cell for almost three hours.

Photo by Adrian Humphreys/NP

A resident of Caledonia, Fleming was protesting the then three-year-old occupation of Douglas Creek Estates, once a housing development under construction, by Six Nations protesters.