The Downward Spiral.

For those of you fluent in legalese This is bill C-51. I hadn't heard of it until a friend sent me a notice about the rally against it today, and from what I've heard your MP and MPP will be reluctant to discuss it.

Here is the discussion of the legal ramifications of the bill. I thought that the legislating back to work of the TTC was the start of a slippery slope but this bill is a dangerous precedent on whole different scale.

It gives sweeping power to appointed representatives of a government agency with oversight that covers products like garlic, vitamin supplements, energy drinks, analgesics, and anti-depressants. The bill removes burden of proof, it allows them to bill you for the cost of confiscating your goods, and it gives them the right to destroy 'evidence' before they prove any wrong doing. It allows them to pass their own laws by bypassing the legislative branch of government, it makes it illegal to give away any product designated as a therapeutic product, this includes things like garlic and vitamin c.

This means they can declare it against the law to give your children vitamins or to cook with garlic if they so choose. They may well not choose to enforce the law in this way, but should they have the power? If they give Health Canada this power what agency is next?

There's another rally in two weeks, I'm not going to be able to make it, so who's going to go for me? Queens Park, two weeks today, if you can make it go defend your right to elect your law-makers!

-James