I sometimes wonder what has happened to the rule of law in this country and, indeed, in the one next door. I wonder, too, if the era of populism we now live in is a factor in a dilution of respect for the law and the reluctance of governments to do much about it.
There was an interesting article in the Toronto Star this week about the acute shortage of Superior Court Judges in Ontario. These are federal judges appointed by the Government of Canada.
According to the Star story, in Toronto’s Superior Court of Justice, at least seven criminal cases have collapsed over “chronically unfilled judge positions” since December of 2023.
These include two cases of child sexual abuse, human trafficking, charges of gun possession linked to a fatal shooting, and an assault and sexual assault case. All of these cases have been thrown out and the accused are back on the street because the judicial system could not deal with them within the time required by law.
The Star story includes a quote from Penny Collenette, who served as director of appointments in Prime Minister Jean Chretien’s office: “We’re into year nine of this government, we’ve been through three justice ministers, and still we have delays. That, to me, is extremely concerning and incomprehensible.”
Even the Chief Justice of Canada sounded the alarm, writing to the Prime Minister last year and warning him that the scenario in Toronto would happen (elsewhere) if the government did not move quickly. “These delays in appointments send a message that this is simply not a priority for the government,” he wrote.
According to the Star, at least twenty judicial vacancies exist in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. So, the question quite clearly is, “What’s the holdup?” Surely, it can’t be because the federal government is having trouble finding “like-minded” judges. I seem to remember that being a problem for another government not too long ago!
There is also an issue with our bail system. Canada’s bail system is the joint responsibility of federal, provincial, and territorial governments. Bail has been too easy to get for people charged with violent crimes. Getting back on the street has been relatively easy for them, often without conditions or monitoring devices. As a result, crimes have been repeated, and people have been killed by individuals who were out on bail.
To their credit, the Trudeau government listened to the provinces and the police communities, which have strongly advocated for bail reform. They brought forward Bill C-48, which was proclaimed this January, and somewhat tightened bail requirements. However, it did not address all of the issues required for genuine bail reform.
Therefore, the question remains as to how much good Bill C-48 will actually do and whether judges and justices, primarily at the provincial level, will continue to promote a progressive stance when it comes to granting bail that may not always be in the public interest.
Against the backdrop of an overextended and less-than-perfect judicial system, let’s take a hard look at what is happening across our country right now.
Hate speech is alive and well in Canada, much more so than I can ever remember. Tragically, it appears to be largely tolerated.
In the United States, it is quickly heading out of control, with post-secondary institutions being mobbed to the extent that many of them cannot hold classes, exams, and graduation ceremonies.
Here in Canada, demonstrations have not yet reached that level, but they are on a path that promotes hate and antisemitism. It is ugly, it is frightening, and it is illegal.
In Ottawa last week, the leader of a so-called Pro-Palestine demonstration bellowed this: “October 7 is proof that we are almost free. Long live October 7. Long live the resistance.” If that is not hate speech, I don’t know what is.
October 7, you will remember, marks the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel, killing many, sexually assaulting others, massacring children, and taking hundreds of hostages, most of whom are still in captivity.
Pro-Palestine crowds blocked the British Columbia Legislature this past week, shouting antisemitic slogans, hating Jews, and defending Hamas terrorists.
In Toronto, these demonstrations disrupt traffic almost daily.
In Montreal, students at McGill University have set up an “indefinite” Pro-Palestinian encampment on campus.
This weekend, Pro-Palestinian protesters paraded in front of the private home of Canada’s Justice Minister well into the night, causing disruption in the neighborhood.
There have been demonstrations from Newfoundland to British Columbia under Palestinian and Hezbollah flags.
When is this going to stop? There are those who argue that these are legitimate demonstrations whose sole purpose is to raise awareness about the tragic consequences of war in the Gaza Strip. I respectfully disagree.
As one commentator said on social media, when they wear Hamas shirts, when they wave Hezbollah flags, when they chant genocidal slogans, when they call for an Intifada, when they call for murdering Jews, the Pro-Palestine or Free Palestine movement amounts to nothing more than a death cult.
No doubt, there are people who attend these demonstrations out of a genuine concern for innocent Palestinians who are caught in this war, but I believe they are well in the minority.
What we mainly see are protesters who promote the eradication of Jews, who vandalize synagogues and other private property, and who support not the Palestinians but Hamas. There is also little doubt in my mind that professional activists who could care less about Palestinians have also hooked their teeth into these rallies to promote civil unrest.
These demonstrations are nothing more than hate crimes. They are antisemitic in nature. They promote violence and support terrorism. They make Jewish Canadians fear for their safety, and they cause Muslim Canadians to be looked at in an unfavorable light.
These are hate crimes at the highest level, and hate crimes in Canada are illegal. Why are they not being shut down? Is it because politicians are afraid to step in as on one side or the other, they could lose votes?
In my view, this is one instance where they can’t suck and blow at the same time. They either support stopping these clear crimes of hate or, no matter what words come out of their mouths, implicitly support them.
It is my view that this is a clear example of where the rule of law is letting us down. People who promote hate and the destruction of a part of humanity should be arrested, tried, and jailed.
Critics will say you can’t do that. There are too many of them, the police can’t handle them, and maybe they have a right to do what they are doing.
To all of that, I say codswallop. As for enforcement, remember when the then Mayor of Toronto called in the Army to clear streets after a snowstorm? If he could do that, and if local police forces cannot adequately control these Canada-wide hate demonstrations, then surely Prime Minister Trudeau could send in the RCMP or even military personnel to do the job.
There is nothing wrong with peaceful demonstrations. These are not. They are antisemitic, hate-filled rallies that promote violence and terrorism. There is a great deal wrong with that. As long as we allow them to continue, we are simply making a mockery out of the rule of law.
And that will have dire consequences.
Hugh Mackenzie
Hugh Mackenzie has held elected office as a trustee on the Muskoka Board of Education, a Huntsville councillor, a District councillor, and mayor of Huntsville. He has also served as chairman of the District of Muskoka and as chief of staff to former premier of Ontario, Frank Miller.
Hugh has also served on a number of provincial, federal and local boards, including chair of the Ontario Health Disciplines Board, vice-chair of the Ontario Family Health Network, vice-chair of the Ontario Election Finance Commission, and board member of Roy Thomson Hall, the National Theatre School of Canada, and the Anglican Church of Canada. Locally, he has served as president of the Huntsville Rotary Club, chair of Huntsville District Memorial Hospital, chair of the Huntsville Hospital Foundation, president of Huntsville Festival of the Arts, and board member of Community Living Huntsville.
In business, Hugh Mackenzie has a background in radio and newspaper publishing. He was also a founding partner and CEO of Enterprise Canada, a national public affairs and strategic communications firm established in 1986.
Currently, Hugh is president of C3 Digital Media Inc., the parent company of Doppler Online, and he enjoys writing commentary for Huntsville Doppler.
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I guess I have to agree with most of what Mr. Mackenzie writes, except for the suggested spin that our judicial system has become degraded only because of ‘Liberal’ shortcomings. For me it all went sideways when the courts began to try to second guess the law and everything becomes ‘special circumstance’. Making allowances for the guilty makes me wonder why we came up with the law in the first place. Two years prohibition from driving means nothing to a drunk. And the threat of using ‘notwithstanding’ to circumvent the courts is just inching us closer to a dictator.
I like the David Wexler question of why people select one tragedy over another for attention. But the tragedies are likely those brought to the forefront by media. Open protestation in the countries he has mentioned (Iran, Sudan, Nigeria, China) suffers serious consequences. And the people in control there, as Hamas is in Gaza, are totally immune to western protestations. They question the very thought of ‘innocent civilians’. These states brandish billboards that tell you straight up how things are. It’s sobering to read “Take a bribe? Lose a hand!” I’ve seen those billboards. No way you question the intent.
We just returned from travelling where most of the cities have a ‘Jewish Quarter’ right next to Muslim areas. Except for TV news from the West, there were no Israeli or Palestinians flags being lashed about in the streets, nor ‘students’ lashing them. I asked about that, but no one seemed to be too interested. In neither the fact or the question.
As to the ‘protestations’ by university students, I assume they have little else to do, Too much trouble and dangerous to become actually involved in any of these various conflicts. Much safer to rant and posture in Western cities where the courts try to make allowances for such activities. Where we have a right to demonstrate. A right they inherited, but certainly had nothing to do with winning.
Most of our local protesters have suffered nothing more serious than having the battery ‘die ‘in their cellphone. I doubt that there would be a measurable number of them that have suffered in Gaza. Proxy indignation.
Insurrection is relatively stress and danger free if you do it in ‘downtown peaceful’.
Mr. Mackenzie; Once again, I suggest, that populism (especially used in election campaigning) is emotional abuse of the electorate, very divisive, and antecedent to civil war. Populism plays on emotional engagement on an issue/position.
I would love to be corrected on this next statement/question. Was it not (and if not, who) Pierre Eliott Trudeau who focussed “Reason over Passion”? Moving from emotion to thinking, considering, discerning what problems, what solutions in politics seems a sane, though difficult challenge. I am not suggesting that we be emotionless human beings – but that emotions stir us to thinking, conversation, deliberating.
What kind of writing, speaking will draw us into conversing and thinking together?
The smell of populism, simplistic chosing of sides and tribes in and of itself, gets us no where.
Just a thought.
Hugh, as a proud Jewish father, grandfather and son of Holocaust survivors, I am beyond disgusted with the vile and open antisemitism we all see daily all over the world including in my own backyard in Toronto.
If people are upset with seeing Palestinians suffer in Gaza they must direct their ire at Hamas and the many people who support Hamas.
As a student of history, what I see unfolding all around us looks uncannily similar to what one saw in Germany in the early 1930’s prior to WWII and the Holocaust. For those of us who I assume to be the silent majority, now is not the time to be silent. It’s never a good time.
I must applaud your courage and moral clarity, Hugh, for stating the obvious. Our government and our citizens must uphold the law at once. We both know that had any similar demonstrations against Black people occurred, all hell would be unleashed and the demonstrators would be arrested immediately. I chose Black people as an example but any other group other than the Jewish community would demand the same response.
I am also encouraged by many of my Gentile friends who share my disgust of these protestors and the support they often receive by our politicians who at best look the other way.
Hugh I thought your opinion this week certainly focussed on the problems with our judicial system and the federal governments shirking of its responsibilities in filling vacancies. Thank you for bringing this judicial neglect to our attention.
When cases of the serious magnitude you spoke of are simply dismissed due to lack of judges, how can we believe the government of the day is protecting us. How can those detectives and prosecutors for the crown who put in many hours investigating, charging and preparing for court, feel when their efforts are dismissed without even going to court? This plus the ease with which bail is given must certainly make those enforcing the law, at a loss for a reason to perform their jobs at the level we wish them to work at?
It makes me think that most of those that commented on your commentary, missed the boat, fixating on the campus protests.
We must make this an issue in who we choose next to lead this country.
Exodus c22, v21 As God told his people: “You shall not wrong or oppress a resident alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt” Anti-semitic hate speech has no place in society but especially in our multi-cultural Canadian society.
Possibly most of those young students feel that destroying hospitals, schools, infrastructure, businesses, and housing to the point that a million people have now lost everything, 30,000 their lives, and 80,000 have been injured is enough. Possibly they might feel that when the killing stops nothing will have been solved and Gaza will be left a wasteland full of angry people. Possibly they overlook the attention getters that their elders focus on and hope that humanity will prevail.
Pie in the sky? Don’t shut them down that won’t work either.
In a perfect world having to hold mass “protests” in order to be heard by our government leaders should not be necessary.
When a citizen cannot make a phone call and talk to their government representative in a reasonable time frame and manner then they usually escalate their approach.
When letters to parliamentary leaders and representatives achieve an “as you may be aware” response that arrives months after any action should have been undertaken, these citizens escalate things further.
Here we arrive a more mass protests and demonstrations.
When it has been proven that the most powerful country on Earth (USA) cannot achieve much by using the most stringent sanctions against places like Russia, I’m at a loss to think of anything a political pipsqueak of a country like Canada could do to apply more international pressure. Maybe we could all go on CBC and hold our breath until we turn blue?
I think no matter how much one protests in Canada or at some USA universities, in all reality Hamas and the USSR probably simply do not care, if they even get this news.
It seems sort of (maybe the word is endemic), that as our governments gain in size and complexity they tend to become more distant from the very people they are supposed to serve. The common bond between citizens and their government seems to get more tenuous and easily broken.
For example, in Muskoka, if you don’t happen to be a teacher, do you even know who is your school board representative? Have you ever had a discussion with them, about anything? They spend about half your taxes.
I thought so. This may not be the best example but most of us know of this item and similar ones flow over into all levels of government. This is a fast way to undermine trust and confidence. Add to this the internet where everything and anything seems to be postable without regard to truth or accuracy and toss in the fact that we are all struggling to keep swimming our life and business to the surface of this “sea of information” (and disinformation) so we don’t have time to do much of our own fact checking (if we even can figure out how).
This whole mess is of our own making, worldwide. The flood of bad information and outright lies comes back to us as what we see now. Protests more out of frustration than logic. Regional wars that have no purpose, no strategic gain to be had, just seemingly endless unsolvable and sometimes ancient grievances. The same ones that have been going of for hundreds or in some cases thousands of years with never any solution. Lets level Palestine….. great and after, if you do manage to get all the “bad guys” you claim to be after, then what? Yes, your weapons worked. Now you have piles or rubble and a few less people. Did you solve anything? I’ll bet the survivors will hate you with a vengeance for generations. I know if you destroyed my society, my family, took everything I ever had and left me starving amongst the rubble it would be a very long time (biblically long) before I’d want to talk to you but you can also bet I’d be watching and looking for a weak spot in your fancy electronic armor and I’d probably have lots of fellow survivors doing the same.
So what are the current collection wars we have trying to accomplish? If some wise pelican of a politician knows this could they please stand up and explain it to us all? The Toronto Star, ain’t doing it.
To Paul and Bev, I offer this response…protesting in favour of an end to violence and for safety and freedom are worthy goals. If this is what we were actually seeing in our streets, on campuses throughout the country, and in our communities, I would accept your arguments. Sadly, this is not what we are witnessing. What we are witnessing are (trust me) anti-semitic signage; intimidation of those in opposition to the views expressed by protesters, willful destruction of private (and public) property, and increasingly, interruptions to the lives of Canadians just trying to live their lives. Oh, and if you wish to continue to argue that this is not anti-semitism and not directed at one specific group, then answer this question please? Why are there no protests against the massacre of civilians in Iran, in Sudan, and in Nigeria for starters? The numbers of those killed dwarf any loss of innocent lives in the war in Gaza. We can then also talk about Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine and the mass imprisonment of Uyghurs in China
Hugh, the right to protest is a right under the Canadian law. As you know, there have always been certain groups who infiltrate these demonstrations to invalidate the group. If you actually went to these demonstrations, you would see that the majority would like to stop the genocide of Palestinian people. Bring in the army and you’ll get communism! That’s not the kind of country my ancestors fought for.
Mr MacKenzie…..While I certainly agree that the quote that you have cited is both anti-Semitic and deplorable. However, in “Logic” your argument is called “the hasty generalization fallacy” and is always false.
There is no evidence that:
“These demonstrations are not about the plight of innocent Palestinians. They are about wiping out the Jewish nation and a threat to Jewish people all over the world”
I met some very doltish people while protesting the War in Vietnam and Governments’ role in Civil Rights abuses. But they didn’t negate the righteousness of the protests!!!! (NB these protests changed the world IMHO)
Well-said Hugh.
Rule of law is not respected by the left-wing activists who now hold cultural sway.
they believe they understand the one true moral vision for a perfect society and won’t let a pesky thing like limited powers or rule of law get in the way.
It’s a repeat of Stalinism in the 1930s.
With all due respect Mr. Whillans, when staged demonstrations call for the eradication of Jewish people as the vast majority of them do, no matter what the other issues are, that is without question antisemitism, and in itself it is horrible. To wit: This from a demonstration in Ottawa. “October 7 is proof we are almost free. Long live October 7, Long live the resistance”. There is nothing misinformed about that. These demonstrations are not about the plight of innocent Palestinians. They are about wiping out the Jewish nation and a threat to Jewish people all over the world. Hopefully you do not support antisemitism of that nature. Certainly, I do not.
This is quite a mixed bag under the rubric of “rule of law” But I would like to address a recurring theme in your recent opinions….that of your of dismissal “anti-semetic pro-palestinian protests”.
In 2023, the Jewish population of the US was 7.287 million (Jewish Virtual Library). Of that number, over 650,000 are registered members of “Jewish Voice For Peace” (i.e about 9% of the Jewish population). Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), a non-profit, anti-zionist organization that has revenue from donations of over $4,000,000 (with an average donation of $60). While there are many other pro-Palestinian, Jewish organizations (e.g. Neturei Karta: Orthodox Heredi Jews) , I will stick to JVP to avoid over counting “protesting Jews”
JVP has been participating and providing some funding in these protests. Indeed, they have said “as pro-Palestinian protesters at colleges across the country face condemnation and backlash from political leaders and media pundits, Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and some Jewish-American politicians are voicing their support for the ongoing demonstrations. (Newsweek 28/04/2024).
Clearly, being pro-Palestinian and anti specific Israeli policy can therefore not be inherently anti-Semitic. And I do wish that you and other media would stop saying this. It dismisses one side of a very important conversation (i.e. a two state solution).
I for one, believe that Israel runs an apartheid state. I further believe that regardless of the evils perpetrated on October 7 by Hamas, the solution that Israel is attempting is genocide.
I may be wrong and would welcome a reasoned and factual discussion. But to dismiss this argument through misinformed name calling (i.e. “anti-Semitic” ) you serve no one
Innocent people suffered horrible things at the hands of Hamas in October and there is no reason for Hamas to hold innocent people hostage either. Is the key question whether or not there has been a measured response on the part of Israel? How do you measure such a thing? If all prisoners were released would there be peace or is the Israeli government committed to wiping out Hamas as their main objective? Innocent lives have been lost by the Palestinians as well. Maybe far more? Ten times? Twenty times? These are people that really just want to live their lives in peace, and raise their families in a safe environment.
There are a lot of issues raised in your article about justice, the state of our judiciary, the political situation, hate speech, and the right to peaceful protest. None of these will be solved overnight. Last I had heard, justices make about $340,000 per year. Maybe $ has something to do with this and a government’s reluctance to appoint more judges?
Do your remember when Ernst Zundel was deemed a bad apple spreading hate speech? I am old enough. What do you do when there are 100’s of Ernst Zundels? Arrest them all? Make them all wards of the state and fill our jails and overwhelm our court system? No easy answers here.
Perhaps John Lennon said it best…All we are saying, is, Give Peace and Chance!