May 14, 2008
Brantford Expositor
Since when can the right to peaceful protest as protected by the Canadian Constitution Act and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms be suppressed by a municipal government?
What does Mayor Mike Hancock and his merry band of brownshirts think they're doing? They have no right to revoke a basic freedom like the right to object and to peacefully protest.
To those who would cheer city hall's new bylaw, consider the ramifications that go well beyond the present native protests. Any labour unionist should be joining with Six Nations in its outrage. This is a Trojan Horse policy which not only takes away the rights and freedoms of a certain identifiable sector of the population, but also the rights and freedoms of us all.
This policy can be equally implemented to include labour disputes, animal rights activists, environmental actions, or public protest of any kind.
This is a Nazi policy the Tory government in particular has been trying to push through for decades. Without the ability to strike, labour unions have no leverage and people have no voice.
Now, with these native protest issues on the surface which uninformed citizens of
Whether you understand or agree with the native land disputes or not, this desperate, ill-conceived bylaw, passed behind closed doors without public input, is a blow to democracy at large.
This is a Nazi-like policy that will ultimately negatively affect everyone, except, of course, the elitist corporate giants and their minions.
Former Prime Minister Paul Martin sees aboriginal protest as a right to be protected. On May 1 he said, "First Nations have every right to protest for better education and living conditions even if they disrupt or inconvenience the public."
He says he "supports the right to hold non-violent rallies." He goes further to say, "protesting is a legitimate way of making one's voices felt ... and I think that's understandable, and it arises because people feel they can't have their voices heard otherwise."
The first sign that a democracy is in decline is the suppression of the right to protest. Where on Earth does Hancock think they have the power to even try to float such a policy?
I am outraged as a former steelworkers local union president; I am outraged as a Canadian; and even more outraged as a
This is not about Ruby and Floyd Montour or Six Nations. This is about the usurping of authority over all
Jim Windle