Close X
Friday, November 8, 2024
ADVT 
National

Feds Seek 3-Month Delay To Reassess Court Challenge Of RCMP Gun Data Destruction

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 04 Dec, 2015 12:25 PM
  • Feds Seek 3-Month Delay To Reassess Court Challenge Of RCMP Gun Data Destruction
OTTAWA — The constitutional challenge to a Conservative law that retroactively cleared the RCMP for destroying gun registry data has been put on hold while the new Liberal government reassesses its options.
 
The attorney general of Canada requested a three-month delay in the case, according to the office of federal information commissioner Suzanne Legault, in order to "consider its position in these proceedings."
 
Legault and the individual involved in the case, Bill Clennett, agreed to the postponement.
 
At issue is a highly controversial move by the former Conservative government last spring to retroactively rewrite a 2012 law after Legault recommended charges be laid against the Mounties for withholding and destroying gun registry data.
 
The Harper government reacted to Legault's special report to Parliament by creating a backdated loophole that removed any criminal liability for the RCMP actions. Moreover, it used its May omnibus budget bill to effectively turn back the clock to October 2011, altering the provisions of the 2012 Ending the Long-gun Registry Act and then having that old bill come into force months before it was even passed by Parliament.
 
The information commissioner called the Conservative move a "perilous precedent" that could be used by future governments to retroactively rewrite laws on everything from spending scandals to electoral fraud.
 
The Ontario Provincial Police, which had begun an investigation of the RCMP's actions following a referral from the public prosecutors office, dropped the case as a result of the Conservative legal rewrite.
 
Access-to-information experts said the unprecedented government move cleared the path for the destruction of documents and legislated cover-ups.
 
Last month, Canada's provincial information commissioners sought intervener status in the constitutional challenge at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice — a measure of the widespread unease wit

MORE National ARTICLES

Two B.C. Trucking Companies Hold Out On Inking Deal With Unifor, Others Sign On

Two B.C. Trucking Companies Hold Out On Inking Deal With Unifor, Others Sign On
Unifor is Canada's largest private-sector union and represents more than 300,000 members across the country

Two B.C. Trucking Companies Hold Out On Inking Deal With Unifor, Others Sign On

Internal Power Struggle Within B.C. Korean Society Boils Over Into Legal System

Internal Power Struggle Within B.C. Korean Society Boils Over Into Legal System
Assault, embezzlement and libel are just a few of the accusations several members of a nearly 50-year-old Vancouver cultural association are launching at one another as an internal power struggle boils over into the courts.

Internal Power Struggle Within B.C. Korean Society Boils Over Into Legal System

Service Packed For Tribute To Alberta MLA Manmeet Bhullar Who Died Helping Motorist During Storm

Service Packed For Tribute To Alberta MLA Manmeet Bhullar Who Died Helping Motorist During Storm
Tributes were also read from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Alberta Premier Rachel Notley, and a video eulogy was played from Canadian Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan.

Service Packed For Tribute To Alberta MLA Manmeet Bhullar Who Died Helping Motorist During Storm

Cat Bleeding From Severed Tail Tossed 'like Trash' At Cranbrook Dump

Cat Bleeding From Severed Tail Tossed 'like Trash' At Cranbrook Dump
The black cat, now named Malala, was found with her tail cut off, her legs tied together, bleeding from several wounds and extremely dehydrated and emaciated.

Cat Bleeding From Severed Tail Tossed 'like Trash' At Cranbrook Dump

Vancouver Mayor Talks Climate Change, Green Economy With Trudeau In Paris

Vancouver Mayor Talks Climate Change, Green Economy With Trudeau In Paris
Vancouver's mayor sat down with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Paris today to discuss the importance of collaboration between the federal government and Canada's municipalities in fighting climate change.

Vancouver Mayor Talks Climate Change, Green Economy With Trudeau In Paris

Soon-To-Be Canadian Set To Recant Oath To The Queen Right After Citizenship Ceremony

Soon-To-Be Canadian Set To Recant Oath To The Queen Right After Citizenship Ceremony
In a letter sent to the citizenship court judge earlier this month, Dror Bar-Natan states his opposition to the oath, which he calls "repulsive," and his plan to renege on the pledge following his citizenship ceremony on Monday.

Soon-To-Be Canadian Set To Recant Oath To The Queen Right After Citizenship Ceremony