Canadians have a schizophrenic relationship with the law. They watch American television and believe that law is about justice and retribution. Nothing could be further from the truth in Canada. In this country, the law is a make-work, share-the-wealth fund for lawyers. It is written by lawyers, for lawyers, read by lawyers, arbitrated by lawyers, argued by lawyers, judged by lawyers, appealed to lawyers and any involvement in the process by non lawyers is frowned upon. Is it any wonder that most Canadians are actually afraid of the law? And we should be.
Canadian law has become an arcane right, practiced in secret by people in black robes. It is controlled by an inner circle within an inner circle, guarded by the heavy hand of an automaton constabulary. Just think back to the G20 weekend in Toronto and you saw the police of Canada, in lockstep, carrying out the supposed commands of the law. Is it any wonder that writers acknowledge that ‘the law is an ass.’
It has been so for a long time. About four centuries ago, William Shakespeare wrote in Henry VI that to carry out an effective revolution: ‘First we must kill all the lawyers.’
Never has there been better reason for revolution. The law in Canada has become a shield behind which we hide much stupidity. Our politicians practice careless law because nobody calls them on it. They approve omnibus changes in laws without a due process of consideration and thinking. They trust departmental juniors with no concept of the real life who passed a bar admission exam on their third attempt last year.
It was almost 30 years ago that the late Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau brought us the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. To our shame, we have allowed inept, uncaring politicians to routinely exempt their laws from the charter. They have made a mockery of what should have been mandatory.
This is not written to damn all lawyers and politicians. In a lifetime of involvement in politics, one gets to know and appreciate many lawyers, judges and law professors. An old friend, the Hon. Justice Allen Linden, for example, has done wonderful work in modernizing Canadian tort law. He has made it easier for Canadians to win compensation for injury through other’s negligence. You can be sure that other lawyers are today earning fat fees from his work.
Many years ago, Al explained something that has stayed with me over the years. He was commenting on a column I had written for a Toronto newspaper. “I know you were right in what you wrote,” he said, “but some truths make great cocktail conversation and some you can write about. You have to know the difference.”
And that is why I do not hesitate to say that some of my best friends are…..
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