When only people with money can access the legal system, what are the rest of Canadians to do when their rights are violated? What's to stop the rich and powerful from ignoring the law, knowing their victims can't fight back?
And how long before people decide if there is no legal recourse, they should feel free to take matters into their own hands. If a pushy neighbour builds a fence on your property and you can't afford to deal with the matter in the courts, pushingit over with a backhoe might seem a good idea.
The Times Colonist takes a good look at the issues in this editorial.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
2 comments:
.
Times Colonist deserves our thanks for this editorial (I picked up on it for my blog, too) ... but
Justice begins with a free press which does its best to inform society of what's going on.
Perhaps TC felt a bit more free in writing about the case of the two drowning victims when Queen of the North sank.
But in my view, CanWest's BC dailies have failed to report on the Basi-Virk / BC Rail trial -- even to the point of sending reporters to the courtroom sessions then publishing NOTHING about what they saw and heard.
Since a free press is the essential underpinning to a democratic society, what does this mean?
The unavoidable conclusion amongst the general public is that it's an official silence, intended to protect the government by NOT informing the public of how Canada's 3rd largest railway slid from public ownership into private hands.
This information should be available to the voting public as they go into another election in May 2009.
So yes, the court system is flawed and isn't working. But the media - which could alleviate much of these difficulties by explaining the facts -- isn't working in the public interest either.
And we owe a great deal of thanks to bloggers like you, Paul, for helping to correct that abysmal situation.
BC Mary
The Legislature Raids
http://bctrialofbasi-virk.blogspot.com/.
.
Ian Mulgrew writes in today's Vancouver Sun about Vancouver lawyer Cameron Ward's six-and-a-half year odyssey to get justice for his wrongful arrest and imprisonment - very sad. This one could still go to the Supreme Court of Canada.
Post a Comment