By Laurie Papineau

Editorial

My dog ate $40 out of my purse the other day.

However, that's not the biggest waste of money I've witnessed over the past week. After spending two entire days at Show Cause hearings for Bruce Montague, who basically asked police to arrest him in the first place, I have yet to witness any judicial process I'd want my kids to be enlightened by.

It's tedious, expensive, overly complicated business - and nothing more than that.

Most deals struck in the vicinity of a courtroom may as well be hammered out at a local pub or over a meal - much the same as any other business deal.

Justice isn't supposed to be about wheeling and dealing. In fact, most of it should be about morality and common sense - with no trading one for the other.

Then, just think about the court staff, kept hanging around for an entire afternoon while lawyers are marching back and forth like expectant fathers. Couldn't we have just worked these things out before the hearing was set to begin?

Of course, how could one expect judicial procedures to work smoothly and make sense when they're enforcing laws that over half the country doesn't even believe in?

In a perfect world, there would be an easier, cheaper and less tedious way to change those parts of the system that don't work properly… this is not that world.

It's nothing short of frightening to think of what a Canadian could put on the line just to say they don't agree with the way their government is handling things. Perhaps this is why so few are willing to take the chance.

Fortunately, some individuals will dive into the murky waters of the Canadian justice system and try to establish who, if anyone, is holding all the power - and whether they indeed should be.

I find those champions of Canadian rights and freedoms are often the most unlikely of characters - while those who usually have a great deal of criticism to offer on any topic are the least likely to risk anything in the name of a better society.

And, whether we have strong personal beliefs on a topic or not, we should always pay attention when an individual does take that step to challenge the Powers that Be.

It's not the cause in itself that matters - it's an individual's right to challenge those things that affect all of our rights.

For that reason, if no other, pay careful attention to Bruce Montague's fight over the coming months. Watch how this Canadian is treated while he stands up to his government - and keep an eye on how well the whole process works.

In the end, you can decide if we're all better off to just feed our tax dollars to the dog.

Link: http://www.drydenobserver.ca