Wearing a mask at an illegal protest is now a crime in Canada
cbc.ca
cbc.ca
I personally don't think that such laws should exist in democratic systems.
[1] http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vermummungsverbot (in german) [2] http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennzeichnungspflicht_für_Poliz... (german)
This penalty makes me think that it's just the government really not wanting people to protest, and trying to restrict protests as much as possible. The "western" governments are seeing what's happening in other countries and how easily revolutions could start now, so they are working on ways to limit protests and drastically punish protesters as soon as they show up for one, to try and prevent future such protests in their countries, too.
Too bad they don't realize that this will only make people increasingly angrier with their governments over time, and they're just asking for a violent revolution if they do that. The more they deny their citizens peaceful protests, and the more they back them into a corner, the more the citizens will feel like they have no choice but respond with violence at a mass protest (especially if there's police brutality). They're asking for it. Good democracies allow protests for a reason, but I think when certain politicians get to power, they forget why.
I'm pretty sure that people who propose and enact laws like this genuinely believe they'll cause people to change their behavior, and that the people whose behavior it won't change should be locked up, anyway.
It's the same kind of fantasy as believing that DRM actually has a meaningful impact on piracy.
Fun fact: Canada has two oil pipeline spills a day, minimum. Just don't protest it.
Sometimes I wonder if we are exporting our legal and political insanity up there.
Does Canada have a "right to assembly" like we supposedly (but not actually) do in the US ?
Source?
http://globalnews.ca/news/571494/introduction-37-years-of-oi...
If everyone wears a mask, or at least the majority, can those being singled out for wearing one use some sort of argument that everyone was wearing one? At what point does a "lawful protest" become an "illegal riot" because if the former turns into the latter all of a sudden, can you argue your way out of it?
In any event, seems as ridiculous as charging illegal downloaders hundreds of thousands, rather than something reasonable, for downloading an album, or what-have-you.
An unlawful assembly is any gathering that incites fear in a neighbourhood. According to the Criminal Code, it’s “an assembly of three or more persons who, with intent to carry out any common purpose, assemble in such a manner or so conduct themselves when they are assembled as to cause persons in the neighbourhood of the assembly to fear, on reasonable grounds, that they will disturb the peace tumultuously.”
A riot is simply defined as, “an unlawful assembly that has begun to disturb the peace tumultuously.”
[1] http://www.cbc.ca/news/story/2012/05/14/f-mask-riot-law.html
But some people think that there's the same law for everyone.
The real state shareholders are multinationals and military-industrial complex.
The board's (government) responsibility is to the real shareholders and not to the product (people).
The state creates environment (just enough freedom, plenty of entertainment) for the product so it will not spoil (revolt).
Some people think that the there are democratically elected representatives and president. It is semantically valid, but does not serve the purpose implied by most people.
1. It is very easy to be white and fluffy before the elections, and turn around right after (and what are you going to do about it?)
2. There's no real choice anyway.