Let me just start with…
I would rather a guilty drug dealer go free than have 10 innocent civilians hassled by Canadian Customs officers.
I mean, who hasn’t heard the tale of families crossing back into Canada from the U.S.A. and have the zealots in the blue uniforms tear their car apart on a whim only to have the bewildered family members left to put the car back together?
It’s nazism. It’s fascism. It’s a violation of our charter rights and it needs to stop.
Yea. I used to be intimidated by border guards – but not anymore. To be fair, most of them are decent people on the front line of defense of our nations security and integrity. But there needs to be a line drawn somewhere.
And in a recent case, a B.C. Provincial court judge has thrown out a case of a drug dealer who was detained while trying to import 50 kilos of cocaine into Canada.
Yes – he is a drug dealer and obviously guilty as can be.
The law states that you can not just detain someone on the grounds that something fishy might be going on.
And yea, drilling holes in a free citizens car and tearing it apart it pretty uncool too.
And before you call me a bleeding heart liberal (citing as many of my neo-con friends do: “If ya got nothing to hide you shouldn’t mind a little gloved hand up your wazoo!” nonsense…) – Searching someone without a warrant and detaining them without legal representation is illegal in this country.
And to the additional naysayers I offer: It takes minutes to obtain a warrant in most cases. A phone call.
As Canadians we have the responsibility to be on guard against those who would quickly strip away our rights in the name of whatever cause they are hugging.
Be aware. Be diligent. Know your rights.