Going, Going Gone... With Gordon Scissorhands

Gordon Scissorhands?
Could I be referring to our Olympic crazed Premier?
Oh yes.
Gordon Campbell has clipped, chopped, cut and shredded not only union contracts in his mad push to privatization, but most of our social contracts as well. Including a citizens' ability to freely access our BC justice system.

Scissorhands Chop Chop has largely removed justice seeking for the middle class by severely curtailing legal aid and closing many courthouses and displacing legal workers in the field. And we have a BC attorney general who thinks this is just fine. Wally Oppal has publicly stated that if citizens actually want to be allowed in the Supreme Court seeking justice, or to bring forth an appeal, he or she better have deep pockets. Right on Mr.Oppal.

It’s an exclusive club that can get before the Supreme Court or appeal court these days. Especially if an appeal has to do with a citizen's right to protect the environment. In order to even bring an appeal before the court, one must have all the transcripts of the original trial. In order to get the transcripts, without which there will be no appeal, one must buy them. In my case, cost of the transcripts is almost $12,000.

I find these kinds of charges, to even get into appeals court ironic and outrageous. After all, taxpayers pay for the courthouse building, and the salaries of everyone who works in the courthouse. Including the drastically shrinking body of legal aid lawyers. And the crown lawyers? And the government lawyers? These high priced legal denizens who whip out case after case to demonstrate to a judge’s, usually happy satisfaction, that the citizen before the court is not of their own elitist mindset, and is of no concern to their own iron grip on the law. And who pays for these lawyers and justices? Why the tax-paying citizens of course. And so our own money, which was earmarked for citizens seeking legal justice, is confiscated by government, the attorney general who is a government appointee, and the crown who also works for the government. And then this money is used to deny justice to anyone even questioning this process. And the environment be damned.

Well, maybe. My own appeal is going forward. It was the 17th century poet Goethe who said "Boldness has genius, power and magic in it”.
We’ll see, Goethe. We'll see.

Betty Krawczyk

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