Big Brother pushes trespass law

Shawn Buckley

Constitutional Attorney Shawn Buckley is fighting a bill that has been passed by our Canadian Parliament and is currently in the Senate. This new law will take away any rights a citizen may have to prevent a government health inspector from going on his property or into his house. In other words, they may enter without the permission or consent of the homeowner. We need to take a serious look that this piece of legislation before it becomes law in Canada. Here we have excerpts from a speech Attorney Buckley gave:

“Governments are now passing laws that restrict our freedoms and we can no longer ignore it. Bill C-6 is a perfect example of that. The civil liberty groups have not talked about it, but Bill C-6 is currently before parliament under the misnomer: ‘Consumer Protection Act’.

"The Consumer Protection Act does not only apply to consumer products and drugs, but also two other risks that we need to take into consideration. Bill C-6 does not apply to natural health products because the Consumer Protection Act says it applies to every consumer product except those products listed in ‘Schedule No. 1.’ These are foods covered by the Food and Drug Act, but the Minister can add or subtract from this list by regulation.

"Now, even a minority government can pass a regulation. By regulation they could change Bill C-6 to apply to natural health products, so this bill will give all kind of powers to Health Canada. But what is the real danger of Bill C-6 (Consumer Protection Act)?

"Well, first of all Bill C-6 abolishes the law of trespass. Currently, our legal system protects your right to private enjoyment of your property so that if somebody trespasses on your land, you can sue him. It is part of the British Common Law.

"With Bill C-6, you could be sitting at your table eating and a Health Canada inspector can be peering in your window watching you and there’s nothing you can do. You can’t charge them civilly, you can’t charge them criminally. Do you want Health Canada, the police, or any civil agent to be in your backyard and there’s nothing you can do about it? Are we in such danger from consumer products that we need to abolish the law of trespass?

"Bill C-6 says that a judge can issue a warrant if Health Canada is likely to find something regulated by the Act. Now the Act regulates every consumer product. Does anyone have a home without a consumer product in it? Even an empty home has products, light switches and other fixtures are consumer products. So I can’t think of a home where a justice may not feel compelled to issue a warrant. Are consumer products so risky that we have to move away from our current search warrant provisions?

"Bill C-6 says, Health Canada inspectors can seize your property without going to court for a warrant. And with Bill C-6, they can not only seize your property without a court order, but they can hold onto it. And they don’t have to report it to a court. There is also no limit to what they can seize: your factory, your bank account, etc. In some cases, they can also destroy your property without a court order.

"Bill C-6 creates administrative offences. If you get charged criminally you can go to a court and have an impartial judge. However, if you are charged with an administrative offence you are presumed guilty. So in other words you are automatically convicted of the ‘crime.’ We are being told that this is for our safety, but this is one of the most dangerous pieces of legislation that I’ve ever seen."

It is very necessary to take action before Bill C-6 is applied. Pass this information to those around you, write to your senators and tell them that you want to preserve your right to privacy in your own homes. It is a basic and necessary right for each citizen of this and all countries. If we allow this to become law, how far will the next piece of legislation go? What other rights will Big Brother take away from us?