NN: PEPPERGATE: CHRETIEN MUST RESIGN PETITION (fwd)
Leslie Schentag (wy497@victoria.tc.ca)
Mon, 5 Oct 1998 22:43:53 -0700 (PDT)
More about the demonstrations at the APEC conference in Vancouver
L.
"When Freedom Is Outlawed, Only Outlaws Will Be Free"
=20
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 5 Oct 1998 20:46:06 -0700
From: Howard Breen <hbreen@island.net>
Reply-To: NanooseNet@mail.island.net
To: hbreen@island.net
Subject: NN: PEPPERGATE: CHRETIEN MUST RESIGN PETITION
>From Flipside, The Muckraking Alternative Web Weekly, at
http://www.flipside.org
PEPPERGATE: CHRETIEN MUST RESIGN
Jean Chretien and his PMO violated human and constitutional rights at the
pepper spray summit. They tried to cover up their involvement, and he joked
about it. His actions disregarded the rule of law, and could throw us into
a constitutional crisis. Chretien should resign. There should be a judicial
inquiry into his involvement, and if warranted he should face criminal
charges.
Read the story below, and send back the petition, which will be forwarded
to the Governor General, with a copy to Chretien. For more information,
visit Flipside, home of Operation Hotpepper =96 Chretien Must Resign.
Petition to the Governor General of Canada, Romeo LeBlanc:
Whereas, Prime Minister Jean Chretien has violated constitutionally
protected freedoms, such as freedom of assembly, free speech, and freedom
>from arbitrary arrest, for reasons that had nothing to do with security
needs; and whereas his dictatorial actions have created a potential
constitutional crisis; and whereas his actions have breached barriers
between politics and the police, creating the conditions for a police
state; and whereas Chretien has declined to provide a full open and honest
account of his involvement in the Peppergate scandal;
Be It Resolved That We, the undersigned, call on Prime Minister Jean
Chretien to resign effective immediately, for the good of the Country.
Your Name: ______________________________
Home Address _____________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
Postal Code _____________
Send to winter@uwindsor.ca
=09=09=09=09=09***
LAW PROFESSOR SAYS PEPPERGATE COULD FORCE US INTO A CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS,
OWING TO POLICE STATE TACTICS WHICH VIOLATE THE RULE OF LAW.
UBC law professor Wesley Pue says the Peppergate scandal could "catapult
Canada into a constitutional crisis."
Blurring the boundary between police and politics renders the rest of the
constitution irrelevant, says professor Pue.
Countries where police respond to political commands are known as police
states, he says. "If this principle can be freely violated, the political
use of police forces to harass journalists, political opponents and other
inconvenient individuals is no longer unthinkable. A very slippery slope
lies between the APEC protesters and the rest of us."
"Everything Canadians value about our Constitution flows from this buffer,"
professor Pue says.
The political impartiality of police is the basis of the rule of law, and
Prime Minister Jean Chretien either ordered his aides to instruct the RCMP
or he did so himself.
In either case, these orders resulted in the violation of constitutionally
protected freedoms (such as freedom of assembly, free speech, freedom from
arbitrary arrest) for reasons that had nothing to do with security needs.
In so doing, Chretien adopted the "despot's mantra," which is "the
conceptual opposite of the rule of law," says professor Pue.
Professor Pue's remarks were contained in an op-ed column in the Globe and
Mail, published October 5. A slightly edited version of his remarks follows=
=2E
=09=09=09=09=09***
PM CAN'T INTERFERE WITH POLICE =96UNLESS WE ABANDON THE RULE OF LAW
By Wesley Pue
Allegations that Prime Minister Jean Chretien interfered with policing at
the APEC summit in Vancouver are very serious, possibly more than we
realize. Indeed, if proof appears, it will catapult Canada into a
constitutional crisis of the first order.
No prime minister has the right to interfere with police operations. The
political impartiality of police =96the heritage of literally 1,000 years o=
f
>constitutional development=96is the sine qua non of the rule of law, which=
is
the heart of democracy. . .
In assessing what is at stake here it is important to look past the details
to matters of constitutional principle.
The most serious allegations run something like this:
For political reasons, Mr. Chretien wished to ensure the attendance of
Indonesian president Suharto at the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation
conference; Suharto indicated he would not attend unless protected from
=91embarrassment' caused by protests, demonstrations, banners, placards,
signs, etc.;
The Prime Minister ordered his aides either to ensure Suharto would be
spared embarrassment (not just protection from assassination, injury or
assault). Or instructed the RCMP to make sure Suharto was spared
embarrassment;
In either event, Mr. Chretien's senior staff gave orders to the RCMP.
These orders resulted in the violation of constitutionally protected
freedoms (such as freedom of assembly, free speech, freedom from arbitrary
arrest) for reasons that had nothing to do with security needs.
As a result, dozens of people were arrested, hundreds of law-abiding=96this
matters=96individuals were interfered with or assaulted by police.
Though the Prime Minister's refusal to issue a candid, unambiguous and
comprehensive account of his conduct is troubling, none of the allegations
has been proved before any competent forum. Even assuming the accuracy of
this picture, however, many wonder what the fuss is about.
Let's make the issues clearer. Imagine a prime minister moving to legislate
a ban on the display of posters displeasing to him. Or making it illegal to
utter words displeasing to Canadian politicians within 100 metres of them.
No constitutionally minded House of Commons, Senate or Governor-General
would approve such legislation. If they did, it would be struck down by the
courts without a second thought.
Nor could such draconian measures be justified on the grounds that certain
words might cause offence to foreign despots or trading partners. No such
rationale could confer legal justification under the terms of the Charter
of Rights and Freedoms, within the spirit of a free and democratic society
(Constitution Act, 1981), or under a constitution similar in principle to
that of the United Kingdom (Constitution Act, 1867). Freedom, simply, is
not made of such material.
Clearly, if Parliament is prohibited from doing something, so too are prime
ministers, their aides and the police. "Reasons of state" cannot be
casually invoked by democratic leaders. The despot's mantra, it is the
conceptual opposite of the rule of law.
Under the rule of law, no one can be interfered with, harassed or made to
suffer except for a distinct breach of established law. And all citizens
are bound by the law: police, PMO staff, prime minister, even the
Governor-general-in-Council.
Canada has well-developed mechanisms (all of which allegedly were
circumvented at APEC) designed to protect the police from political
interference and citizens from political policing. The reason is simple:
Blurring the boundary renders the rest of the Constitution irrelevant.
Countries where police respond to political command are neither free and
democratic nor governed by the rule of law =96no matter what their written
constitutions say. Pejoratively but accurately, we call such places "police
states."
If this principle can be freely violated, the political use of police
forces to harass journalists, political opponents and other inconvenient
individuals is no longer unthinkable. A very slippery slope lies between
the APEC protesters and the rest of us.
Everything Canadians value about our Constitution flows from this buffer.
=09=09=09=09=09***
Wesley Pue is the Nemetz professor of legal history in the faculty of law,
University of British Columbia, Vancouver. This column originally appeared
in the Globe and Mail, Oct. 5, 1998, p. A17.
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