Bryant: Legislation is overbroad

In a recent National Post news report, Michael Bryant, the Attorney General of Ontario, was quoted as saying that the federal government’s new dangerous offender legislation is “too broad and will catch too many people in its net without zeroing in on the truly dangerous”.

Ironically, the constitutionality of Mr. Bryant’s own dog law is being challenged in the Superior Court of Ontario because of identical flaws. The Attorney General could not have summarized any more clearly the failings of his own legislation.

Mr. Bryant is truly proving himself to be a two-faced animal, although I’m not sure of what breed.

It is deeply troubling that the Attorney General will champion constitutionality, fairness, and the presumption of innocence when it concerns dangerous violent offenders throughout the country, but will not afford the same protection to dog owners in his own province.

The article goes on to state that “Bryant [wants] federal Justice Minister Vic Toews to change the law so that people who are long-term offenders and, therefore, subject to long-term supervision after their release, should be candidates for dangerous-offender status as soon as they breach their probation conditions”.

Imagine that! Targeting people based on their actions!

If he had done that with his own legislation two years ago, he wouldn’t be defending it in front of a judge today.

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