Police in Toronto are telling residents to make it easier for car thieves to get to their keys. And the Justin Trudeau government is considering a bill that could put someone away for life if they say the wrong thing online.
Home invasions in Toronto for auto theft rose 400% in 2023. So, Police Constable Marco Ricciardi had this startling piece of advice at a recent town hall meeting in Etobicoke, a part of metro-Toronto:
Ricciardi: "To prevent the possibility of being attacked in your home, leave your [key] fobs at your front door."
And since Canada has such strict gun-control laws – keeping guns out of the hands of homeowners but apparently not car thieves – Ricciardi added this:
Ricciardi: "A lot of them that they're arresting have guns on them – and they're not toy guns: they're real guns [and] they're loaded."
Randy Sutton of The Wounded Blue says the constable's advice is among the most absurd things he's ever heard out of Canada.
"It is basically telling victims to be willing victims; to trust the criminal not to further do criminal activities while they've just broken into your home," the veteran law enforcement officer tells AFN.
Meanwhile, the Canadian Parliament is considering the Online Harms Act, which could land Canadian citizens in prison for life if they post on social media something that "advocates or promotes genocide." It also carries a lesser sentence (no more than five years) if authorities think a person may be about to post something hateful and offensive online.
"This is almost some type of futuristic, Orwellian law which would give the government unfettered ability to imprison people for words," Sutten reacts.
As the New York Post puts it: "Doesn't get more Orwellian than that."
