The Secret Powers of Dalton McGuinty

Despite not having posted anything for nearly a year, all of the controversy and news surrounding the ongoing G20 Summit, which officially began today in Toronto, has drawn me out of early blogger retirement. Sure the egregious amount of tax dollars spent on security, the traffic logjams in and around the city, and the general ostentatiousness of all the photo ops annoys me. However, these events hide hidden political and social dangers that are far more troublesome.

The Toronto Star has reported several times now on how the McGuinty government, or more specifically, our Dear Premier and his cabinet ministers, quietly approved a Toronto Police initiative to secure special powers for high profile events like the present G20 Summit [See the front page of the Saturday Star for June 26, 2010]. Effectively, the new rule allows police to stop and search anyone who comes within 5 meters of any part of the G20 security zone. More importantly however, those persons who cannot produce identification will be jailed for two months or (more likely) fined $500 upon conviction. Furthermore, this is no mere bluff. The law has only been revealed because an unsuspecting York University student was arrested outside the security zone when he refused to produce I.D. to police officers.

The article did not reveal whether or not the federal government had any involvement in this new policy, which gives Toronto police more military-like powers, but it is not at all unlikely. The important thing to take away from all this is that the civil liberties of the Canadian people have taken a blow over this. It is irrelevant whether or not the intentions of police are well meaning, and frankly, the high-profile nature of the G20 also should not warrant changes to our sacred liberties. After all, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

It is one thing to contain protesters and crack down on so-called anarchist groups if they become violent during staged protests. But what about the aftermath of the G20 Summit? McGuinty has demonstrated that a premier can pass new rules that legitimately give police officers the ability to arrest persons with little or no suspicion. Moreover, this rule was passed in secret, behind closed doors, and without any public statements. I admit, most people make a good habit out of carrying their drivers licenses or health cards in their wallets at all times anyways. But when this habit is turned into a rule, well, we enter a situation more akin to Easter Germany circa 1950. Furthermore, so long as there is no crime or strong cause to suspect a crime, police should not be able to identify citizens on command (in private or public spaces).

"Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of the person and the right not to be deprived thereof except in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice; Everyone has the right to be secure against unreasonable search or seizure; Everyone has the right not to be arbitrarily detained or imprisoned."

The above passage is from sections 7,8, and 9 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, our most treasured social contract, which most Canadians remain dangerously uninformed about. These rights in particular, along with freedom of speech, religion, and assembly, outline inalienable and just principles that at one time were regarded as worthy of dying for. They should not be compromised or surrendered for ANYTHING (hence the use of inalienable)!

As far as I am concerned, being detained or fined for a lack of photo I.D. clearly crosses into unreasonable search or seizure territory. If we allow our governments to begin passing secret rules, regardless of their intentions or objectives, which can potentially violate the rights of innocent civilians, than we have already fallen too far back towards authoritarianism. This is no exaggeration either. Welfare state governments across the developed world have already been ballooning in the wake of the Great Recession, in both size and power. It is imperative that as Canadians we punish those politicians who try to get away with this, by enabling our powers through the democratic process, and that we remain constantly alert to infringements upon our Charter.