When policing devolves from solving crimes to seeing how much private property police can seize from citizens there is something very wrong with the focus of our nation, yet under civil forfeiture laws this is precisely what’s happening across Canada and the United States. Like most laws, civil asset forfeiture has, at its heart, good intentions. As the saying goes, … [Read more...]
Ontario’s Attorney General’s Office Angry about public scrutiny in home seizure case
Crown Counsel James McKeachie is very annoyed with the Montague family for making public the letter he wrote to them where he spelled out his intention to take their family home using Ontario's Civil Remedies Act. They posted his letter on the website about their legal challenge to Canada's Firearms Act, www.BruceMontague.ca. McKeachie's letter, dated the day the Supreme … [Read more...]
Ontario’s Attorney General’s Office Angry about public scrutiny in home seizure case, Part 4 of 4
And what happens to all the money and property seized? Well, of the $13.4 million seized in Ontario since 2003, only $1.2 million has been turned over as compensation to "victims of unlawful activity", whatever that phrase means. Almost half of it, $5.7 million has been handed back to law enforcement agencies in the form of grants. Five times as much money is given … [Read more...]
Ontario’s Attorney General’s Office Angry about public scrutiny in home seizure case, Part 3 of 4
Donna Montague was not impressed. "At every stage of this process, whenever we've 'negotiated' with them, we've been railroaded," she said. "The search warrants were illegal. They said that for our Constitutional challenge to go forward we had to drop our challenge of them. After they arrested Bruce, did the first search and were holding Bruce in jail, they threatened … [Read more...]
Ontario’s Attorney General’s Office Angry about public scrutiny in home seizure case, Part 2 of 4
McKeachie, and through him the Attorney General's office as a whole, was being forced to answer for his actions to the public. He doesn't like that at all. Why should the Ontario Attorney General's office or McKeachie personally be upset about public scrutiny of this case? Openness and transparency should be the hallmark of government. After all, the Attorney General … [Read more...]
Ontario’s Attorney General’s Office Angry about public scrutiny in home seizure case, Part 1 of 4
Crown Counsel James McKeachie is very annoyed with the Montague family for making public the letter he wrote to them where he spelled out his intention to take their family home using Ontario's Civil Remedies Act. They posted his letter on the website about their legal challenge to Canada's Firearms Act, www.BruceMontague.ca. McKeachie's letter, dated the day the Supreme … [Read more...]
Yukon Puts Proceeds of Crime Act on Hold Indefinitely
Justice Minister Marian Horne, during the debate on the budget last week, told the Yukon Assembly the government will not move forward with their proposed Civil Forfeitures Act until the public has been "consulted". It's a shocking move for a government to take, given the optics of "getting tough with criminals" looks so good. Standing up for law and order and all that. … [Read more...]