06) "THIS AIN'T CANADA RIGHT NOW" - Editorial

People's Voice Editorial

It seems that police these days have difficulty in grasping a simple concept: people who witness brazen violations of civil rights often record these incidents for everyone else to see.

     One such case concerns Officer 815, AKA Sgt. Mark Charlebois, videotaped searching protesters last June 27 near the St. Andrew TTC Station in Toronto. This, of course, is during the crackdown against anyone walking the streets near the G20 Summit. Outside the station, a young man refuses to hand over his backpack. Off-camera, a woman's voice points out that the protesters are not within five metres of the zone where police and politicians claim (falsely) that anyone can be legally searched. The young man insists that, as a Canadian, he has the right to refuse the search. To the surprise of the crowd, Officer 815 replies, "This ain't Canada right now.... There is no civil rights here in this area."

     Another (we could list dozens) happened recently in Kelowna, where an RCMP officer was filmed kicking Buddy Tavares in the face after a phone call reporting that the victim had been sighted firing a shotgun. Turns out Tavares actually works at the nearby golf course, scaring geese away from the greens. Instead of admitting that the officer had made a big mistake, the RCMP quickly invented a tall tale about domestic abuse.

     Both officers are "under investigation", still receiving their paycheques. Nobody knows what the outcome will be. The fact is that police seem to be immune from prosecution for violating civil rights. So, are we still living in Canada? Actually, the police have always used unjustified force against Aboriginal peoples, strikers, immigrants, and others. But it's also true that the "whiff of fascism" in the air these days makes cops even bolder, despite all the cameras. What this country desperately needs is not more cops, but political leaders with the guts to impose full civilian oversight against these thugs in blue.

(The above article is from the Feb. 1-14, 2011, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)