although it has yet to find a Canadian distributor, the movie "Deadly" is set to open in Ontario in the fall. The movie depicts the story of the rape, torture and slayings of 14-year-old Leslie Mahaffy and 15-year-old Kristen French by Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka.
This is Ontario where we are blessed with a premier and a provincial government that, when not out and out lying to their constituents are attempting to control their every move, thought and action. So it came as no surprise that Premier Dalton McGuinty had this to say when questioned about the movie’s release, "I certainly will not be viewing that movie, and I guess my advice and my encouragement to Ontarians is that they would do the same."
Consumer and Business Services Minister Jim Watson went even further, bemoaning the fact that if the film doesn’t breach the Criminal Code and that there is no way to prevent it from being shown in Ontario (translation: we would like to make it illegal because we don’t think you should see it even though it may not be against the law to show it).
The comments of these politicians are in stark contrast to those made by Tim Danson, the lawyer for the Mahaffy and French families. Danson enunciated his and the families’ frustration at doing so much to ensure that the videotapes taken by the killers were destroyed, only to have some of the contents of those tapes recreated on the big screen. Danson stated, "It’s very, very painful for the families". No one will dispute that statement. In dealing with legalities, unlike McGuinty and Watson, he actually said something that was relevant when he pointed out that because of the ages of Leslie and Kristen, any attempts at a portrayal of the sexual attacks by Bernardo and Homolka would amount to child pornography under Canadian law. Danson also stopped short of urging people not to see the movie if it is lawful to be shown. and no one could blame Danson or the French and Mahaffy if they expressed their opinions that people should not see the movie. But there is something objectionable about the premier advising Ontarians not to see "Deadly" solely for the reason that he finds its production, objectionable.
McGuinty and Watson’s comments were reported without much of a reaction. This is consistent with the way Canadians view their governments. We hear a lot of talk about democracy and free elections but the word "freedom" is rarely ever mentioned except in the days and weeks proceeding November 11. We are, in the main, content to have the various levels of governments run our lives and tell us what to eat, where to smoke, and what movies to see. If Dalton McGuinty loses the next election it will be because of his lies and broken promises, not because of his interference with our daily lives.
There is a wider issue at stake than just this one movie. True crime movies are extremely popular and have been around for years. There is no doubt that the families of the victims of the Boston Strangler and aileen Wuornos just to mention two notorious cases felt the same way as the French and Mahaffy families feel when movies about their loved ones came out. Yet McGuinty and his ministerial sidekick don’t mention all true life movies where families of the victims are forced to endure further suffering. Only this movie is worthy of his sage advice.
When McGuinty and Watson made their comments that people shouldn’t see the movie "Deadly", they were doing nothing more than attempting to score cheap political points. and with all the lies that this government has told, they need all the points they can get. McGuinty and Watson had a right to express their personal opinions but to go further and purport to tell Ontarians not to see it showed utter contempt for the people in their province. Contrary to what they truly believe, Ontario residents can make the decision whether or not to see the movie without any help from the nanny state.
McGuinty’s constant advice to the unwashed masses about how they should live their lives is bad at the best of times. To use the French and Mahaffy murders to instruct the populace what to do was a totally classless act.