Pubdate: Tue, 30 Aug 2005 Source: Parksville Qualicum Beach News (CN BC) Copyright: 2005 Parksville Qualicum Beach News Contact: http://www.pqbnews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1361 Author: Kirk Tousaw Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?196 (Emery, Marc) IT'S TIME TO STAND UP TO THE BULLY Vic Toews fails to understand the important ramifications of the Emery extradition case for Canadian sovereignty. Yes, there is a treaty between the Canada and the United States. But Emery committed no crimes in the United States. He never even crossed the border. And, unlike telemarketing fraud, there are no victims of Emery's alleged crimes. But the sovereignty issue runs much deeper than simple cross-border jurisdictional issues. This case is about Canada's willingness to stand up for its domestic policies and a more rational approach to cannabis use. The U.S. has increasingly been pressuring Canada to emulate its failed policies in a variety of domestic arenas. They bullied Canada on the issue of same-sex marriage. They bullied Canada on the issue of marijuana sentencing reform (inaptly called decriminalization). They bullied Canada, and utterly ignored their treaty obligations, on the softwood lumber issue. And, yet, Toews would have us roll over and send our non-violent citizens to a U.S. penitentiary for the rest of their lives. Canada needs to take a different approach. We need to get the U.S. drug war out of Canada. It is time to take a stand and face up to the bully. Kirk Tousaw, B.C. Marijuana Party Vancouver - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin