I blogged some time ago about a law in Alabama that, according to some interpretations, afforded police the extraordinary power to ask American citizens for ID and proof of citizenship justified in the flimsiest of fashions. While that interpretation was potentially incorrect, (I don’t believe it is) a new and secret law was passed in Ontario by the McGuinty Liberal government that is even worse. How was it so secret? Well, it was passed by an order in council rather than in the legislature. This is usually done when the house in the legislature is not in session but it actually was in session. And so, the story of this law begins on very unsure footing for one is compelled to ask why they felt the law should be passed so secretively if it was at all justified.

So what’s the deal?  The deal is that the new law turns a portion of down town Toronto into some kind of protective zone under another law from the 30′s meant for places like a power sub station.  If you come within five feet of this zone, you can be compelled under this new law (effective for about a week) to show your identification to police.  The tricky part of that is that an office building is not a protected public works of some sort and this tricky method of skirting the boundaries of our constitution is just flatly unconscionable.

This law is absolutely unconstitutional but it also exposes such an incredible weakness in our justice system relative to its non-viability as a law.  The government can maintain very little worry that this law will be challenged before it is expired.  There’s almost zero chance that it will be heard in court until long after the law has been utilized and done away with.  The fact that it even takes an arrest for opposition law makers to hear about to attests to how shady the blasted thing is in the first place and so it should be struck immediately but that’s not going to happen.

So to sum up.  The law compels people to show identification to police upon request.  Flatly unconstitutional.  The law was passed by order in council while the legislature was actually in session.  No one (including opposition Members of Provincial Parliament) really knew about the law until some one was arrested under it, prompting the Canadian Civil Liberties Association to challenge it though who knows when a challenge will be heard.

Again, I actually wonder about police that “follow orders” in enforcing these laws.  It’s most certainly a negative character trait in my eyes…though not nearly as negative a development as what goes through the heads of political leaders it would seem.