By Mike Archer. For such conservative communities it is amazing to watch the tolerance Abbotsford and Mission taxpayers have for the amount of their money they seem prepared to allow the police to spend fighting for their right to illegally enter private property without a warrant or justifiable reason.
They have now been told by two judges that their practice of breaking down Tim Felger’s door without a warrant is not allowed in Canada.
(Let’s hope MLA Darryl Plecas is listening)
One would think that conservative communities like Abbotsford and Mission would object on three grounds:
1) Private property rights are sacrosanct (A Man’s Home Is His Castle)
2) Taxpayers’ money should be spent judiciously and carefully
3) Bumbling incompetence should not be rewarded
Let’s look at what the Keystone Cops of the Fraser Valley have managed to achieve.
Based, perhaps, on the twisted logic of former community college teacher cum legislator cum amateur crime fighter Darryl Plecas’ discredited notions that the criminal code and the constitution are merely suggestions, the Abbotsford Police and the Mission RCMP each illegally invaded Tim Felger’s premises without proper warrants.
Wait ’til someone makes it illegal to wear your Depends longer than three hours without changing them. We’ll see some doors being broken down with janitors instead of electricians protecting the cops then. We’ll also find that the tolerance for illegal, warrantless searches diminishes drastically too.
Mr. Felger spent over 100 days in jail, lost his business and his part ownership of his building (a case he also intends to win in civil court). He has lost hundreds of thousands of dollars and had his life turned to shit by a simple-minded, conservative power structure which, in Abbotsford anyway, appears to be in bed with the police force, neither of which seem to know the law and both of which seem to have some serious problems colouring within the lines when it comes to obeying the law.
Why?
Why, with all of the drug gangs still operating in Abbotsford and Mission, all of the drugs in our schools and all of the addicts left to die of Hep C and HIV in our alleyways, did the APD and the RCMP pick on an political activist like Felger?
Could it be because while they were fudging their way through community college he was studying economics and the law and knows it better than any of them?
Could it be because the cops in both cities take their marching orders on such matters from the local business community and municipal politicians rather than the criminal code by which they are supposed to abide?
Or is it simply that he is smarter than they are? That he is right about the enormous waste of time, money and resources, which could be spent saving lives in our hospitals or teaching our children but has instead been thrown away fighting a War on Drugs which could never be won.
Just how stupid are our police?
Their evidence has been thrown out of court twice as inadmissible. Their reason for entering his precise illegally in Abbotsford is said to be cooked up based on the illegitimate whisperings and complaints of a local businessman who simply wanted Felger out so his properties could increase in value.
They don’t have any admissible evidence to prove he broke the law.
Maybe it all boils down to the fact that Tim is a pain in the ass and they’ve got guns goddammit.
The last we heard from Crown Attorney J.M. Le Dressay he seemed to be arguing quite unconvincingly that the law is wrong because … well, you know … because … ooooooh … Your Honour … it’s Tim Felger … You can’t let him win
Le Dressay was reportedly heard stomping down the courthouse steps mumbling, “Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit …”
I spent time with Mr. Felger in the remand center on drug charges, too. The worst drugs according to the government’s own stats, are Alcohol and Tobacco. They cause the most harm to society. So why are these not on the Drugs Schedule? There are no exemptions written into the CDSA. Could it be to create police state powers in our country based on purely corrupt political kow towing to American/rightwing Tyranny? Tim is a kind gentle person who is honorable, unlike most cops I have met. This law causes corruption in every institution and entrenches oppression arbitrarily on people according to a substance they are associating with, not to their actions. These are much less dangerous substances to society than alcohol and tobacco, which monopoly is enforced by the state at gunpoint. Tim fights a good fight for what is right against a law which is being administered unlawfully by the Health Minister. It is her duty to administer the CDSA in a neutral fashion based on scientific evidence, on an ongoing basis, putting all dangerous drugs before parliament to vote on. She has the power to exempt any of the substances for any reason, as the CDSA is not a prohibitions act, although it is being used as one by a corrupt gov ready to entrench lawlessness, violent criminal gangs, in our society to gain virtual police state power. This law is the cause of much crime and is as illegal as the ones Hitler’s judiciary used to target Jews
Excellent article Mike, you raise some important issues that tax payers should be aware of. I too met Tim and found him to be very intelligent and knowledgable. He is very passionate about protecting the rights of and freedoms of the people, he is an advocate for a safer community, less police spending and he is putting his balls on the line to keep the rogue APD from running the show. The cities belong to us, not the police or the politicians,they work for us. He deserves a big settlement, this is Police harassment and they need to put on notice that there’s no place for this rogue behavior in our communities.