NDP’s Joe Comartin Falling For Typical Harpercon Strawman Politics: Hook, Line and Sinker

And if what Mr. Joe Comartin says about you is true, Mr. Irwin Cotler, you’re really no better.  However, Mr. Comartin, did you have to ask him to accelerate it without debate or further examination?  Do you really know what you’re doing? Apparently, even with a Harpercon majority, this is one of those rare times the House of Commons needs needs unanimous consent to ram the bill through quickly. I’m talking about one of those miserable tough on crime bills that died when the writ was dropped last March.  A bill that would promise speedier trials, Bill C-53.  Before you think that this would be a marvelous bill, here’s the short of it, you may not think it’s so groovy.

The government wants to streamline lengthy trials that get mired in mounds of evidence, numerous charges against one or more persons, and involve calling many witnesses. Mega-trials can take up a lot of court time, and delays increase the risk of mistrials, according to Nicholson.

Oh yeah! Don’t let a pesky thing like the examination of evidence and  witnesses  get in the way of a good speedy trial.  After all, the faster a judge can find ‘em guilty, the faster we can lock ‘em up in one of  Stevie Spiteful’s super prisons.

More here:

The bill would also do away with the duplication of efforts within the already stretched criminal-justice system by allowing joint hearings on pre-trial motions for multiple accused.

So, this would mean that defendents would no longer have the option of being tried separately and hiring their own lawyer? More often than not, I have heard that in cases where there are multiple defendents, they are advised to hire their own attorneys as their interests often differ when it comes time for court.  Will they all have to file the same plea? More to the point, will it be easier for co-defendents to be all found guilty simply by association with their co-defendents?

Why is Mr. Joe Comartin all ga ga giddy over passing this Harpercon bill so quickly? Well, strawman politics, of course.  He was shaken up when he learned that a Superior Court  judge in la belle province let 31 alleged Hell’s Angels, due to the fact that their trial(s) could take about ten years.  Yes, this did not sit well with Mr. Comartin. I did mention that they were ‘alleged’, did I not?  Gee, Joe, whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty? Why go that guilty until proven innocent crap? That’s Stevie Spiteful socon ideology. Aren’t you supposed to oppose that?

The point is that  while the bill was being studied at the time the writ was dropped in March and now they want to simply ram it through ASAP, before the parliament adjourns for summer? Over what? An overwhelmed superior court judge?  I wonder if Mr. Comartin or Mr. Cotler would be so hot to trot to be pushing Mr. Nicholson to ram this bill on Monday if they hadn’t heard about those 31 alleged Hell’s Angels?

As for those alleged bikers or anyone else accused of being involved with organized crime; alleged or not. Does anyone honestly think that such a bill will deter  the creativity that their high priced lawering money can buy? 

It looks like unanimity may not be reached so fast. Dizzy Miss Lizzy won’t be supporting the speedy passage of this bill.

Fundamentally changing the Criminal Code to undermine some of what I regard as fundamental principles of justice over centuries would in my view require more hearings,” May said.

She also says that the Harpercons have not asked her for support.

This may be also one of the few high points during her time in office.