October 3, 2005

Michael Bryant
Attorney General
11TH Floor
720 Bay St.
Toronto Ontario
M5G 2K1

October 3, 2005

Sir:

Legislation designed to confiscate property from those that have made their money through illicit means was hailed as a major victory by many of us. At last, those in organized crime, for which the bill was primarily meant, would not be able to keep the assets they accrued thought their criminal activities. Those against the legislation indicated we were on a slippery slope, and that the legislation could be used to seize anyone's property if the government choose to do so. I, for one, scoffed at such an argument.

However, it seems those people were correct, for now I hear your government has chosen to seize the property of a law abiding citizen, whose only crime has been to choose not to register his guns. This is hardly someone the law was designed to target. In fact, Mr. Montague, an otherwise law abiding citizen, has openly defied a bad law, and his arrest is for this, nothing more. Surely the seizure of his property was made without your authority and you will move to stop such a travesty of justice. If, in fact, you were aware of this, perhaps you are not completely aware of all the circumstances, given your busy schedule. I hope, once you are aware of the issues surrounding the case you will reconsider.

Mr. Montague is doing something, based on his conscience, that he believes is right. Openly defying bad legislation in a democratic society has always been not only tolerated, but encouraged. It is not that Mr. Montague wants anything special, he does wish to go to court and answer the charges and let the court decide his fate. Please allow him to do this without further hassles such as seizure of his assets, which will hinder his ability to afford decent defence council. This would not be in the interest of justice.

Please let me know of your decision.

Sincerely,

James W. Thacker

Professor
Odette School of Business
University of Windsor
Windsor Ontario N9C 3P4

Cc: Bob Runciman