Please note: RCMP/ Courts - Enough is Enough

It is not very often that I write about a specific story more than once, I have never written about a story a third time.

In mid-February, 2015, I wrote a blog about two young, somewhat disabled young adults from Victoria who had been manipulated into creating a pressure-cooker bomb. At that point, I suggested that the RCMP had, in their enthusiasm to get on the anti-terrorist bandwagon, gone far beyond what is ethical or appropriate.

On July 30, 2016, I reported that B.C. Supreme Court Justice Catherine Bruce said that the police had entrapped the couple and their charges were stayed.

The Crown appealed that decision.Yesterday, BC’s Appeal Court ruled that the charges against the couple should be stayed because of entrapment and abuse of process. That decision can, of course, be appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada.

I get that terrorism is a serious concern; I understand that some people whether they be the police or work within the criminal justice system may be passionate about their jobs. I also understand that some people do not like being told that they were wrong. But it seems to me that those people need to accept that the courts have decided their actions were at the very least: “over the top”. They need to accept that it is time to move on.

The cost of the initial investigation/sting operation was a million dollars. I suspect that the amount of money it has cost the taxpayers to take this case through three levels of the courts may never be publically known. And for what? One of the reasons why people are charged, taken to court and if convicted - sentenced is the belief that such actions will act as a deterrent for other people who are considering a similar crime. Anyone who believes that a terrorist or a suicide bomber would consider the possibility of jail time before committing such an act lives in a profoundly different reality than I do.

By pursuing this couple so vigorously for over four years, our criminal justice system has done nothing to prevent a committed terrorist from committing acts that are destructive to our communities. If anything that blind pursuit may have further entrenched the concept that the power of the police and court system only exist to persecute the weak or the disenfranchised.
If, on the other hand, that money had been used to investigate just a few of the thousands of Canadians who hide millions of dollars of income from the government during income tax time and if the criminal court system had pursued those individuals with half of the vigour that they have shown pursuing this couple, then not only would have I received some value for my tax money spent, but other tax avoiders might be scared and pay what they owe.

Rock and a Hard Place - the Rule of Law I

In certain parts of the world, the rule of law is a founding principle of our democratic form of government. Rule of law means that everyone, regardless of status, wealth or position, is obliged to follow the same laws and is treated equally by those laws. For those countries to which British immigrants settled - the Magna Carta signed in 1216- is the founding document to this principle. It is obvious that even the most democratic of countries have never fully or completely lived up to this principle. It is far too easy for those who are rich and/or powerful to find ways around the law or to manipulate the law so that it serves them. Nonetheless, like all principles, it is a lofty goal to which all countries should aspire.

Canada, by apprehending Chinese national, Meng Wanzhau - Huawei’s chief financial officer was following the law. Canada has with many countries in the world an agreement that requires it to apprehend an individual if another country has valid charges against that individual. After the apprehension, that country needs to prove, in court, that the charges are valid and can be proven. The individual is not sent to the other country until the courts are satisfied. This is the law - it is what Canada has agreed to.

However, agreeing to follow the rules becomes somewhat problematic when both the country that requested the apprehension and the individual’s country of birth have less of a commitment to follow the rule of law. Trump, in the past two years, has demonstrated a remarkable disrespect for the law, signed treaties and any sense of fair play. It appears as if the law means little to him except something that he can manipulate to his advantage. He breaks or threatens to break the law with no indication that he is ever embarrassed or ashamed by his lies and manipulations even in his personal life where the lies are obvious.

Trump’s disregard for the rule of law, unfortunately, reflects much of the USA’s international policies. For almost a century they have been the dominant political and financial force in the world. They have gotten used to bending the rules to suit their political and economic needs and agenda. Their arrogance in believing that they have a manifest destiny to rule the world becomes all the more obvious as the rest of the world starts to realize that they are no longer the only dominant power.

China is not a democracy. It has no tradition of the rule of law, of the elites being accountable to the general public, of everyone having to follow the same laws. China has a rich and complex history much older than any of the countries of the west. Their political systems have just evolved in a different way. While they may honour their treaties, it is not clear as to whether or not the current edition of China would so if some of the articles of those treaties stopped being advantageous to China. It is not even clear as to whether or not China understands that Canada, if they are to honour the rule of law, had no choice.

Canada may get squeezed in this interplay between China and the USA - both countries aspiring to be the most significant political and economic power in the world. But if there is any dishonour here - it does not fall on Canada’s shoulders. It may appear as if Canada is being the wimp, the weakling, the skinny kid who gets sand kicked in his face while lying on a beach, but anytime a country stands up and says we will do what we promised to do even if it causes some problems, they are the strong one.

Being in between two bullies is always difficult, not staying true to yourself in that situation only makes it worse