The Ontario Court of Appeal has dismissed a constitutional challenge to Parliament’s anti-gang law, upholding the convictions of two former Hells Angels found guilty of committing extortion “in association with” a criminal organization.
Steven “Tiger” Lindsay and Raymond Bonner argued the legislation, introduced in the aftermath of Quebec’s biker wars and in anticipation of the Hells Angels’ arrival in Ontario in 2002, was unconstituitonally vague and that minor criminals or even innocent people could be subject to its harsh penalties.
The court disagreed.
[More]
Good news for a change? I like it!
The comments section is hilarious…
Pretty trick legislation and legislation that has the potential for major abuse. If three or four guys wearing Teamsters jackets show up at a non-union trucking company during a Teamsters strike and end up beating some people up, does that make them subject to the Gang Law or is it that a few loose cannons in the Teamsters did the deed.
Yeah, yeah, I know the Teamsters are not the HA. Just making a point that laws that have such scope have the potential for major abuse and you can be your red and blue bippy that there’s a bunch of foaming at the mouth ethnic/social conduct/sexual orientation/etc/etc groups just champing at the bit to get this puppy into court.
Strange Brew indeed!!