|
The Gag Law Explained: How it Undermines Democracy and Threatens our Freedoms
morefreedom.org, National Citizens Coalition
Also see Speech by Gerry Nicholls of the NCC
www.libertarian.on.ca, Libertarian Party of Ontario, Nov 6 '04
On May 18, 2004, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in favor of the government's election gag law.
...Nor is the gag law just about spending limitations; it also says if you or your group wants to spend more than
$500 on election advertising you must first get permission from Elections Canada.
...[Mr. Justice Michel Bastarache (majority)] thinks voters need protection from ideas and viewpoints!
Chief Justice Beverly McLaughlin (dissenting opinion) called the limits "draconian":
..."Political speech, the type of speech here at issue, is the single most important and protected type
of expression. It lies at the core of the guarantee of free expression."
The National Citizens Coalition continues to fight the gag law.
U.S. law extends to Nova Scotia databases
cbc.ca, Nov 5 '04
...There's concern the U.S. Patriot Act allows the American government to access private information about Canadians.
The law, which is meant to combat terrorism, requires the Canadian subsidiaries of U.S. companies to open their databases to American authorities...
According to NDP Leader Darrell Dexter, three Nova Scotia government agencies use American companies to keep their records.
Canadian governments are allowed to accumulate power and information. Then they share that information with foreign companies under the jurisdiction of a much more powerful government, which they assume to be benevolent.
Deadline looms on continental defence project
theglobeandmail.com, Jeff Sallot, Nov 10 '04
The minority Liberal government will have to decide by year's end whether to renew the mandate
of a joint Canada-U.S. military planning group, which has been working on an ambitious project that could
bring the armies and navies of both countries under a single command for North American defence...
...The planning group's interim report, Dr. [Michael] Byers [Canada research chair in international politics and law at the University
of British Columbia] said, also glosses over difficult
questions about the legal liability of Canadian soldiers answering to a U.S. commander and American
soldiers operating on Canadian soil.
|
