P.E.I. photographer handcuffed, fined after taking pictures of Quebec City's iconic Château Frontenac

A professional photographer from Charlottetown, P.E.I., was fined $230 for "loitering" while taking pictures of Quebec City's iconic Château Frontenac hotel. John Morris says he was standing on a sidewalk opposite the U.S. consulate near the famed hotel around noon on Tuesday, waiting for some clouds to arrive to get the perfect shot when police officers approached him and told him to leave.
"They said, 'You can't be standing outside for 30 minutes,'" he said.
Morris said he did not understand what he was doing wrong.
"It's a public sidewalk," he said. "I'm not disturbing anybody. I'm not blocking any views. I'm out of the way."
He said he refused to provide his identity unless the police told him what offense he was committing. He said at one point, he took out his phone to film the interaction, and that's when police handcuffed him.
He said the officers only explained that he was loitering and issued the fine for it after he was put in the back of a police cruiser.
"It's absolutely crazy that you would be given a fine for waiting for clouds on a public sidewalk. I'm a professional photographer. I do this for a living," said Morris, who produces books, calendars, and jigsaw puzzles with his photographs.

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