WHAT HAPPENED TO MY RIGHT TO FACE MY ATTACKER?

Who Was That Masked Man? And What Happened To His Rights?

Marni Soupcoff

Managing Editor, Blogs

 

Yesterday it became a criminal offense for Canadians to wear a mask during a riot or unlawful assembly. Anyone who violates the new law will face a penalty of up to a 10-year prison sentence. It's ironic that the change is said to have been motivated in part by the G20 riots in Toronto -- where the individuals most concerned with going incognito seemed to be the police. The bigger problem is that the law threatens to chill the political and social activities of completely innocent people -- or to land them in jail for doing nothing more serious than trying to stay anonymous.

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