When you bend over backwards to help a minority, it behoves them to meet you halfway or the system becomes open to abuse.
Such appears to be the case in the French speaking regions of Canada, where a lawyer (yes it would be wouldn't it), has managed to avoid a speeding citation by claiming that it was illegally administered because the officer couldn't speak French.
The lawyer said that under Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Official Languages Act, the police are obliged to offer their services in French, even if the member of the public is bilingual.
So although the lawyer was well able to understand the citation, the fact that it wasn't administered in French as well, made it illegal. The speeding offence occurred in the largely French-speaking village of St-Pierre-Jolys in southern Manitoba, and the officer had been drafted in from an non-french speaking area because of officer shortages. Of course Monsieur Hacault has now received an email informing him that since his language rights were not respected, the matter is being dropped.
"You expect law enforcement to be aware of their charter obligations and to obey the law - especially the charter, it's the most important law in Canada" Mr Hacault told the press. But he would say that wouldn't he?
Canada's Official Languages Act (Or the Loi sur les langues officielles) came into force in 1969 and gives both English and French languages equal status in the country, and was an attempt to try and quell a separatist movement in French Canada, which had been stirred up again by President De Gaulle of France .....
... In June 1967, in a typical bit of meddling and trouble making, French President Charles de Gaulle, shouted "Vive le Québec libre!" during a speech from the balcony of Montreal's city hall, while on a state visit to Canada.
Of course its now an abused piece of legislation, which gives legal weasels a chance to evade punishment for criminal behaviour. How long do you think before some bright spark in the Labour Party introduces such a law for the non-integrationists, amongst our ever more separate immigrants in the UK?
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| New Loophole For French Canadians? |
Such appears to be the case in the French speaking regions of Canada, where a lawyer (yes it would be wouldn't it), has managed to avoid a speeding citation by claiming that it was illegally administered because the officer couldn't speak French.
The lawyer said that under Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Official Languages Act, the police are obliged to offer their services in French, even if the member of the public is bilingual.
So although the lawyer was well able to understand the citation, the fact that it wasn't administered in French as well, made it illegal. The speeding offence occurred in the largely French-speaking village of St-Pierre-Jolys in southern Manitoba, and the officer had been drafted in from an non-french speaking area because of officer shortages. Of course Monsieur Hacault has now received an email informing him that since his language rights were not respected, the matter is being dropped.
"You expect law enforcement to be aware of their charter obligations and to obey the law - especially the charter, it's the most important law in Canada" Mr Hacault told the press. But he would say that wouldn't he?
Canada's Official Languages Act (Or the Loi sur les langues officielles) came into force in 1969 and gives both English and French languages equal status in the country, and was an attempt to try and quell a separatist movement in French Canada, which had been stirred up again by President De Gaulle of France .....
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| De Gaulle Hated The Anglo-Saxons |
... In June 1967, in a typical bit of meddling and trouble making, French President Charles de Gaulle, shouted "Vive le Québec libre!" during a speech from the balcony of Montreal's city hall, while on a state visit to Canada.
Of course its now an abused piece of legislation, which gives legal weasels a chance to evade punishment for criminal behaviour. How long do you think before some bright spark in the Labour Party introduces such a law for the non-integrationists, amongst our ever more separate immigrants in the UK?
This lawyer probably had this loophole in his back pocket for a while. The issue is whether the offender understood the citation and it should have been enforced.
ReplyDeleteThis case doesn't help the perception of slimy lawyers, and apparently they don't care.
Lawyers are paid to try and get guilty people off with crimes ... to that end they will try and denigrate truthful witnesses testimony, knowing full well that their client committed the crime. Enough said.
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