Nipawin - Tuesday, July 10, 2001 - by: Mario deSantis

Rule
of
Law

People have created the Rule of Law as a tool to enforce their peaceful aspirations for living together. We must never forget that people come first, and that the Rule of Law is a creation of people. But in our rational societies our elitist leaders have taken over the Rule of Law in their own hands to curtail everybody else's freedom for their own laissez faire businesses.

 

 

Newfoundland

I am encouraged to notice that continuous small changes are occurring to restore our rights. Class action legislation has been tabled in Newfoundland and this will allow a group of people to band together and sue a company or a government for damages incurred.

 

 

North
Battleford

In Saskatchewan, we cannot yet band together and use class actions to sue our governments. However, I am pleased that lawyer Tony Merchant has taken the initiative to contact and eventually help people for the trouble they had with their water in North Battleford. An angry Keith Brousseau has explained that it is wrong to sue the city of North Battleford because "eventually taxpayers are going to have to pay the cost of all this."

 

 

Walkerton

The recent Walkerton's E.coli accident caused the death of seven people, and we have polluted waters all over the country. Therefore, it is time that governments become responsible to the people, and Mr. Brousseau's argument for not suing the city doesn't make sense.

 

 

Tony
Merchant

We congratulate again the unconventional Tony Merchant for putting people's lives before money, for taking the courage to take again and again our governments to court, and for risking again disciplinary sanctions from the conventional Law Society of Saskatchewan.
   
-----------Some References:
  Newfoundland to allow class action suits, CBC Canada, July 6, 2001 http://cbc.ca/cgi-bin/templates/view.cgi?/news/2001/07/06/lawsuits010706
   
  Walkerton, Mike Harris' GDP and Social Capital, by Mario deSantis, June 30, 2001
   
  Law firm's actions questioned, CBC Saskatchewan, July 7, 2001 http://sask.cbc.ca/cgi-bin/templates/view.cgi?/news/2001/07/05/lawfirm010705
   
  The disgrace of the Residential School Programs: The initiative of lawyer Tony Merchant versus the work of our no-fault government, by Mario deSantis, March 10, 2001
   
  Boil-water order remains in Sask. city, May 6, CBC Canada 2001 http://cbc.ca/cgi-bin/templates/view.cgi?category=Canada&story=/news/2001/05/05/battlefor_mom_010505