In the old days, you know, when the words “right” & “wrong” actually meant something, there was an important part of Canada’s Criminal Code known as Section 46 that carried some weight with the citizenry. It describes “High treason” and “Treason”.
If foreign terrorists from another large oil producing nation were to destroy the oil production facilities in Northern Alberta, it would be reasonable to conclude that they would be criminally charged. If some Canadians conspired with them, one can only speculate if Section 46 would be used to charge them.
One is left to wonder if Canadians accepting vast sums of money from foreign sources to shut down Canada’s oil production via non-violent means is unethical and possibly unlawful?
h/t SDA commenter ‘G’
Related Update: In this video Ezra Levant describes the paralyzed hearings in Northern B.C. – h/t Sammy
The law against treason is rather tightly formulated, and nonviolent adtions however prejudicial to Canada and its citizens probably are not crimes under it.
Now the Khadr boy’s actions in Afghanistan unequivocally were treason.
We need the old Soviet crime of “wrecking”: economic sabotage. The greens are clearly engaged in that crime.
In the old days, a Canadian government that allowed vast amounts of Canadian strategic resources to fall under direct ownership of a foreign Communist dictatorship would likely be accused of treason.
A man from BC named Kanao Inouye was tried for treason and hanged for his role as a prison guard during the Second World War:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanao_Inouye
We now wrestle with people like Khadr and the environmentalists who take American money to sell out their country.
We’ve lost our will to brand these people.
Hugo Chavez’s oil company is just one of the many foreign groups registered to testify at the Canadian government’s Joint Review Panel about the Northern Gateway pipeline. So are countless other foreigners from Europe to South America and a long list of foreign-funded lobbyists too. Use the form below to write federal to Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver and tell him we don’t want foreign interests or their local puppet groups manipulating our decision about our pipeline. Ban foreigners and their local puppets from appearing before the pipeline review panel.
[…]
It’s our pipeline. Our country. Our jobs. And our decision.
Stop foreign billionaires from sabotaging Canada’s national interest!
The link also has the actual ads from variouse NGO’s involved.
(tks for the h/t Robert)
Not sure if serious.
The review process sucks and is ripe for abuse. So, change it. Feel free to limit who can make presentations, timelines, etc. That’s the issue. It’s funny, conservative blogs have done so much to press the free speech issue in this country and now we have SDA (the biggest of them all) wondering if people practising political speech are traitors with no thought as to how such an idea would be extraordinarily dangerous for all sorts of conservative causes? Ugh. Where’s Kate?
The real Traitors are in the bureaucracy.
They live there like termites in your home.
No way they would allow comrades to be stopped in the work dear to their Marxist hearts.
The collapse of our economy to replace it totally with a socialist one where they are mini kings.
CSIS is clearly mandated to protect Canada’s economic security. But I don’t know to what degree that includes “non-violent” methods of economic subversion.
(Crosslink to comments on a related topic about treason on BCR: http://blazingcatfur.blogspot.com/2012/01/call-it-treasoni-do-leftist.html#comment-425757575)
I think part of the problem is that CSIS no longer has a Counter-Subversion branch, which was abolished after they took over from the RCMP. They can still engage in counter-subversion operations but it is no longer a normal part of CSIS’ mandate — it has to come with special authorization of the Minister and conducted under strict controls. The problem with largely ignoring subversion is that it opens the door to destroying a free democracy using non-violent methods.
But what difference should it make if fascists take control using guns or peaceful subversion? The end result will be the same: dictatorship enforced by a (violent) police state after the buggers seize power.
Some Nations have their Armed Forces swear allegiance to the Constitution precisely to avoid a situation like that — in other words it doesn’t matter who is governing or which Party takes control of a Nation, if its leader (elected or otherwise) violates or abolishes the Constitution then it is the military’s job to forcibly remove him/her from power and call new elections.
Canada would do well to have a Constitutional oath of allegiance like that from our military. Although, we have a very weak Constitution if we depend soley on the Charter of Rights of Freedoms (but that’s another issue).
Apologies. (mea culpa)
The link also has the actual ads from variouse NGO’s involved.
No, it doesn’t
They’re just running ads for “Our Decision”
Sorry about that.
Ezra is on a tear tonite re the ‘presenters’ at this pipeline gongshow..really great stuff.
CSIS created the Heritage Front so they could show what a good job they did fighting non-existent white supremacists all the while being racists for ignoring good leads on the Air India bombing before it happened. CSIS are just janitors who clean up after it hits the fan.
We’re probably talking more of sedition here than treason…at least as far as the present social deconstruct is concerned.
On any other issue, when the words ‘free speech’ actually mean something, the idea of hanging someone for accepting money to promote a cause peacefully is repulsive. It is here too.
Change the rules – both in Canada and the United States.
Charities and lobbying groups should have to disclose all foreign donations, payments, and inter-agency fund transfers along with detailed explanations of any demands or conditions that accompany such donations. This should all be made freely available to the public.
As previously mentioned, government review panels should be closed to foreigners unless granted a special invitation.
LAS, free speech of Canadians is one thing and should be protected. But foreign monies funded into groups that demonstrably hurt Canada is another issue entirely.
As far as I’m aware, it is absolutely illegal for a foreign entity to fund political campaigns within our country. Therefore, why is it okay for a foreign entity to fund a massive PR campaign here?
But foreign monies funded into groups that demonstrably hurt Canada is another issue entirely.
No it is not. You just don’t like the cause so you’re jonesying for more state power. Accepting money is a human right no matter the cause. If you want to kibosh this crap, tell the government to change the review process instead of creating another one for ‘foreign money’.
“As far as I’m aware, it is absolutely illegal for a foreign entity to fund political campaigns within our country. Therefore, why is it okay for a foreign entity to fund a massive PR campaign here?”
We can call out foreign nationals as a means to illustrating to our own citizens the motives behind these campaigns. However, to align Canadian supporters of these campaigns as treasonous is asinine.
Call them stupid, useful idiots, anti-Canadian, whatever. But trying to sway public policy is a far cry from illegally overthrowing our elected government.
This is a ridiculous post.
I knew it was against the law for foreigners to contribute to American political campaigns, though Obama & his cronies clearly allowed that law to be broken in 2008.
I’ve always thought it was the same here in Canada but I can’t find a link proving or disproving it.
I guess all the brains are in the ME…They understand the damage Foreign (USA) NGO are doing to the formation of Government in Egypt..Arrest and execute sends a message…
Canada is too Stupid to even complain..Roll over fools..
Do you think that Law must always be predetermined and can’t be changed to fit the crime..
I don’t see how this post is “ridiculous” or how people who are obviously bribed by foreign interests are not in the least bit treasonous. If they simply applied to speak against the pipeline on their own or at the behest of a national group, that would be one thing. That they are actively campaigning and taking money to subvert national interests and LYING is something else.
Most of the lefties need to be charged and tried for treason. If indeed treason can be considered the conscious and active destruction of our current society.
Too name a few………….
Those that politically indoctrinate our children in publicly funded schools.
Those that actively participate in leaving our borders open and encourage destructive cultural influences such as Islamic immigration.
Those that actively create unsafe community’s by facilitating the early release of violent offenders, including protecting the identities of unleashed sexual predators.
Those that imprison Indigenous people to ghetto reservations by promoting welfare dependence thus creating crime, substance abuse, and unsafe communities for the rest of Canada.
Those that marginalize people of color with bigotry by introducing Affirmative Action programs, creating second class citizens who become suspect for gainful employment by potential employers, and resented by the greater community.
Those that actively disarm the general public from the violence and crime that they have created via welfare dependence, the subsequent underground drug economy’s, and the early release of violent felons into society.
To deal with your original proposition, Robert, it is indeed unethical, but it is not unlawful. All this talk of treason is utter drivel. Simply require participants in panel reviews to disclose all funding sources. Public disgust will do the rest.
And yes, too many of the posters on this board seem to want “free speech for me but not for thee”. And yes, that includes being a paid shill. Otherwise we’d have to ban product advertising.
Rob Huck : So it’s okay to use foreign money to shut down Canadian oil or to cut off taxes? Give your head a shake. They are trying to destroy our economy using foreign backing. This is outright treason.
@Scar: “CSIS created the Heritage Front so they could show what a good job they did fighting non-existent white supremacists all the while being racists for ignoring good leads on the Air India bombing before it happened…”
I agree that they used to be that way, but CSIS seems to have changed from “tilting at windmills” to fighting the real thing since Harper was elected (especially because the former Reform Party was also a target of the Heritage Front racist nonsense). But I think CSIS still sometimes has its hands tied too much when investigating real threats — a legal holdover from its former politically correct masters of the ’80’s and ’90’s.
The bureaucrats who crafted those legal limitations failed to distinguish between legitimate dissent and “peaceful” subversion, the latter of which can actually damage a Nation’s security, economy, sovereignty, and ultimately destroy freedom as much as violence can.
I honestly believe that when it’s all said and done, the pipeline will be built. All the time and money that these protesters have pissed away will be for naught.
As Napoleon said, “when the enemy is making a mistake, leave them alone”. ( Or something like that).
Here’s some stuff on charities.
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/chrts-gvng/chrts/plcy/cps/cps-024-eng.html
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/chrts-gvng/chrts/plcy/cps/cps-022-eng.html#P107_9478
See section 4
“”The courts have determined political purposes to be those that seek to:
further the interests of a particular political party; or support a political party or candidate for public office; or
retain, oppose, or change the law, policy, or decision of any level of government in Canada or a foreign country.””
A registered charity can give donation receipts. A charity that does not qualify can still be a non-profit organization and be exempt from income tax.
“Rob Huck : So it’s okay to use foreign money to shut down Canadian oil or to cut off taxes? Give your head a shake. They are trying to destroy our economy using foreign backing. This is outright treason.”
The Canadian government goes abroad to encourage other nations to buy our products, invest in our nation, and be more favourable to our own investment, even if it’s at the expense of their own business. Is that treason?
If not, then why can’t foreign nationals do the same to us? Just because it may not be in the best interests of our own people (subjectively speaking, of course)?
Seeking to influence the process — unduly or otherwise — is not the same as taking over our institutions.
(Besides, our government does more to destroy our economy to advance the interests of Canadian-grown corporations than any foreigner possibly could.)
Again, call out our foreign-backed nationals seeking to influence our policy.
But get a grip, people. This ain’t treason.
When you fight agents our own country what is that called. If you don’t like what the gov. does change the gov. But don’t use outsiders to do it. When you enlist foreign capital to fight in your country that is treason.
Ralph, you are entirely correct; the pipeline will indeed be built. The government has declared it a national priority.
This environmental review does not have the power to actually do anything. All it does is make a report to the Minister. The Minister (read the government) is entirely free to accept or reject any or all of the report’s findings. The government alone has the power to grant the approvals necessary for the project to proceed.
The only question is how long the government will allow the review to delay the decision to proceed.
Scar: “A charity that does not qualify can still be a non-profit organization and be exempt from income tax.”
So what? A not for profit is not exempt from all the other legal requirements and restrictions of any public corporations including the requirement to produce an audit statement at the AGM. Removing the charitable status kills their fund-raising, and that will hurt, hugely.
Anyone who works with foreign interests to harm the well-being of their country is guilty of treason. End of story.
You make the mistaken assumption that Canada is still under Rule of Law. What would give you THAT silly idea?
What you posted was very reasonable. However, what about this? suppose you were to write a killer headline? I am not suggesting your information is not good, but what if you added a post title that grabbed folk’s attention? I mean small dead animals: Didn’t They Use to Hang Traitors? is kinda plain. You might glance at Yahoo’s home page and watch how they create news headlines to grab viewers to open the links. You might try adding a video or a related picture or two to get people excited about what you’ve written. Just my opinion, it would bring your posts a little livelier.
@ info site.
Thank you, Mr. Helper.
LAS at February 21, 2012 6:08 PM
“Accepting money is a human right no matter the cause.”
So am I to take it that you believe that all laws against bribery should be struck down.
The Indians may have a Problem.. They fall under treaties made by the Queen.. It could be considered that the treason of accepting Foreign Money makes them agents of America (USA), thus a reason to vacate the Treaties…No Status = No Reserve = No Gov’t Money = No problem
Canadians are dumber than your average idiot!
“Canadians are dumber than your average idiot!”
Would that be an average American idiot or European idiot.
Anyone who posts on the internet using the name “Abe Froman” is guilty of treason. End of story.
Hmm. I must say, people seem to get a tremendous thrill out of making utter bullshit accusations of “treason”, but it doesn’t seem to do anything for me. I don’t feel any smarter, tougher, more important or more virile than I did before I popped off. Am I doing it wrong, do you think?
@ ebt
Yes, you are doing it wrong.
It’s preview before post.