Maximum 10-year prison term for conviction of new offence (Canada, wearing a mask at a protest) [View all]
JamesFromTheInternet @JamesFTInternet
Wearing a mask at a riot becomes a crime today
http://cbc.sh/SrlEXvN
Wear a mask, go to jail for 10 years, rob the country, get a bonus!
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2013/06/19/pol-mask-bill-royal-assent.html?cmp=rss
A bill that would ban the wearing of masks during a riot or unlawful assembly and carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence with a conviction of the offence is scheduled to become law today.
Bill C-309, a private member's bill introduced by Conservative MP Blake Richards in 2011, passed third reading in the Senate on May 23 and is expected to be proclaimed law during a royal assent ceremony in the Senate this afternoon.
Richards, MP for Wild Rose, Alta., said the bill is meant to give police an added tool to prevent lawful protests from becoming violent riots, and that it will help police identify people who engage in vandalism or other illegal acts. The bill is something that police, municipal authorities and businesses hit hard by riots in Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal and other cities in recent years, were asking for, according to Richards.
"The provisions of my bill are effective immediately, which means police officers across Canada now have access to these tools to protect the public from masked rioters," Richards said in a statement being released today.
(More at the link. This of course includes Anarchopanda, a teacher in a panda outfit who marches in solidarity with the protesting students and who has become quite popular; police took his costume head into custody recently, to much laughter and derision on the part of Canadian media. This new "law" also allows police to do the following to peaceful protesters, so its actual intent is easy to spot...)
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