Silenced

I first heard of Alex Hundert on the Sunday Edition. Normally focused on pompous middle class issues and politics, Michael Enright devoted his weekly essay to Mr. Hundert and his Kafkaesque situation. This was an unlikely start of a journey into the ongoing erosion of civil liberties in Canada.

Alex Hundert along with hundreds of other 'activists' was arrested in advance of the G8/G20 summits in Toronto in June. Thinking that 'activists' have dear leaders like themselves, the cops assumed that if they dragged away some of the more vocal 'activists' that the protests might fall apart. No such luck there. But the world had a great view of the new Canada: fake lakes, security fences and mass arrests.

But back to Mr. Hundert. He is facing three conspiracy charges. He was released on $100,000 bail and subjected to house arrest with some conditions around non-association with other arrested 'activists' and a ban on participating in political demonstrations.

Given his experience he was invited to take part in a panel discussion on the police response to the G8/G20 protests in September. A panel discussion apparently is a political demonstration. So he was rearrested and subsequently released with new bail conditions which according to the Toronto Star: "They include a clarification of the no-demonstration rule, to include a restriction on planning, participating in, or attending any public event that expresses views on a political issue".

That last point deserves to be written a second time: "any public event that expresses views on a political issue". This is typically Canadian, being nebulous in statements that could be read quite radically. Arguably eating is a political act. And what's a public event?

This is quite shocking behaviour and many different organizations and individuals, many of whom may never have given a damn about Mr. Hundert are now taking notice. What if this could happen to you? Imagine being forced to be apolitical?

I just had a thought, perhaps his conditions could have forced him to spend 8 or more hours a day at a mall windowshopping? Or maybe they could have forced him to watch Entertainment Tonight with a quiz that if he failed he would have to return to jail.

What surprises me the most is that they are not getting on with his trial and the trials of numerous other 'activists'. Obviously this man and his compadres are evil and should be jailed along with other evildoers. Why allow them to continue to be free to read Chomsky and plot the downfall of the state? Get them into jail and destroy their spirits. The case against them must be rock solid to allow for such stringent bail conditions.

They tried and convicted Colonel Russell Williams pretty quickly and he was one of our prescribed heroes. So when are these trials going to happen? Or can we just assume that Mr. Hundert and his fellows will merely be on permnent house arrest since they are such a nuissance to the state?