By arthur Weinreb
Friday, September 15, 2006
MONTREaL -- a man went into a Dawson College building concealing three weapons under a black trench coat. In an open and defiant manner, 25-year-old Kimveer Gill began randomly shooting at people. One woman died and 19 others were injured, six of them critically. The shooting ended when, in the words of Montreal police spokesman, Ian LaFreniere, the gunman was "neutralized" (when asked what he meant by neutralized, LaFreniere replied that it meant he wasn't shooting anymore).
TORONTO -- actor Sean Penn, who was in town for the Toronto International Film Festival, walked into the Sutton Place Hotel concealing a package of cigarettes. In an open and defiant manner, Penn began smoking away right in front of the cameras during a press conference held in the hotel.
There are obviously differences between these two horrendous acts. When the Montreal shootings began two police officers who had been outside of the building investigating another matter, heard the shots and immediately ran into the building and confronted Gill. after one of the officers shot him in the arm, Gill turned the gun on himself and died instantly.
In contrast to the quick action taken by the Montreal authorities, the authorities in Ontario huffed and puffed (no pun intended) about Penn's lawbreaking activity. Toronto's Medical Officer of Health, David McKeown said, "Charges are possible. This is an issue we take seriously." But the best comment came from Ontario's top nanny, Health Promotion Minister Jim Watson who said, "No one is above the law".
Now there are a couple of obvious problems with Watson's statement. The guy has obviously never been to Caledonia where natives who are illegally occupying the Douglas Estates have been operating above the law for months. Court orders were routinely ignored and the police merely stood by and watched the occupying natives breach the peace. The Ontario government was so upset at this law breaking that they bought the land and allowed the natives to remain. Secondly, whenever someone says, "no one is above the law" it's only because someone usually is. If no one is above the law, there is absolutely no reason to have to say it.
after the rhetoric about Sean Penn's open defiance of the law died down, the Sutton Place Hotel was charged and fined $605 under the Smoke Free Ontario act. Sean Penn however managed to escape without being charged. The province, of course couldn't risk possible future economic damage to the Toronto International Film Festival by angering Penn by enforcing the law. There is one law for the privileged and one for everyone else and this notion that no one is above the law is nothing more than another Dalton McGuinty lie; one of the many.
There is nothing as pathetic as a Minister of the Crown whining in public about the province's law not being enforced. The reality is that the Smoke Free Ontario act is one of those politically correct pieces of legislation that, if not vigorously enforced, has little consequence. To hear the anti-smoking cheerleaders, more people will die from Sean Penn's second hand smoke than could ever be shot to death in a Montreal college building. But we all know that isn't true. Watching Sean Penn avoid being hit with a $105 fine was worth more than the cost of admission to see one his movies.
This week, a smoker's club is opening in Smith Falls, Ontario. It will be interesting to see if the members of the club who will be puffing away in defiance of the law will be treated in the same matter as Mr. Penn was. Don't count on it.
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