Our northern neighbor’s free-speech rights
Editor, The Times:
Amy Goodman’s most recent column in The Times should not elicit any wide-eyed responses [“Detained at the B.C. border in Canada’s Olympic crackdown,” Opinion, syndicated column, Dec. 4], especially from Goodman herself.
Any reporter with experience would know that Canada’s free-speech rights are more limited than in the U.S. Books can be challenged in Canada, and many have been. A quick look at www.freedomtoread.ca will show people the current list of challenged books in Canada. The attempt to bring certain types of printed material into the country can be met with confiscation.
What has played out at the border with Goodman should not be taken as some sort of travesty. It should be seen simply as Kabuki theater between the press and the Canadian government.
— Dave Riggs, Seattle
The same as the U.S., only colder?
Americans assume Canada is like the United States, only colder. There are many other differences too.
Speaking as someone who was held under the Emergency Powers Act, I can attest to the differences in the British justice model. The minister of justice can hold someone for 30 days on his own signature. The detainee has no charges filed, has no attorney assigned, never has go to court, is not allowed communication in or out, and the Ministry of Justice does not have to respond to inquires about the detainee.
You just drop off the planet.
And the really cool part is that the detention order can be renewed monthly, forever. Two of the main reasons I was able to get out were the efforts of Amnesty International and my mom.
The police in Canada can tap your phone, read your mail and monitor your Internet usage because they feel like it. There is no judicial oversight. The police can detain you, search you and interview you without any sort of probable cause.
Rights are something you have here. Not there.
— Douglas Kerley, Lynnwood