Marc Emery and making a difference
Posted 03-10-2009 at 18:08 by motorhead
Tags extradition, marc emery
So Marc turned himself in last monday, four years after his arrest in Halifax. It's still kind of hard to believe this is happening considering the facts of the case, most importantly that he has never set foot on American soil. Anyways, we all know the case by now and that his situation would probably be alot different if Canada did not have a Stephen Harper led Conservative government at the moment.
Dispite the fact it appears the governments position is set and that our Justice Minister, Robert Nicholson, will not refuse Marc's surrender, Emery and his supporters have been urging people to voice there disaproval and write letters to various politico's, most importantly the justice minister himself. I, like many, was thinking to myself why bother, the old coot probably doesn't read letters from joe public anyways.
So all this week I've been reading the news and watching the videos of Marc turning himself in. I have to say Jodies interviews really struck a chord, this has been really hard on her, she's fucking devistated.
Then yesterday I'm browsing the CBC and I come across this story about a guy from New Brunswick, Dwight Hickey, who was due to be extradited to the US for selling a Polar Bear skin rug when he was living down in Geargia. Stupid, I know, but apparently you have to have proper import and sales permits for such items.
Anywho, our wonderful justice minister refused the extradition on thursday. In a three page letter to Mr. Hickeys legal aid attorny the justice minister outlined his reasons for his decision.
Wow. So this guy actually reads his mail. Or at least is giving the pretense that he does. So I said to myself, fuck it I'm gonna write a letter to this guy. So I spent a good part of my day yesterday writing Mr. Nicholson, my own MP, and also Jack Layton the leader of the NDP. The NDP is Canada's 'lefty' party who have in the past been the most receptive to legalizing marijuana and also to Marc Emery and his efforts. However, they have been rather quiet recently about Marc's situation.
The letters were short and to the point, basically outlining the fact that Marc has never been to the US and that his prosecution is politically motivated, grounds to have the extradition nullified. Will my letters make a difference? I don't know. Depends on how many others write letters I guess. It made me feal a little better anyways just to write them.
So if anyone has some free time check out this thread:How to free Marc Emery Read it over and write a letter to one or all of the people listed there. Let's hope for the best for Marc and Jodie.
Dispite the fact it appears the governments position is set and that our Justice Minister, Robert Nicholson, will not refuse Marc's surrender, Emery and his supporters have been urging people to voice there disaproval and write letters to various politico's, most importantly the justice minister himself. I, like many, was thinking to myself why bother, the old coot probably doesn't read letters from joe public anyways.
So all this week I've been reading the news and watching the videos of Marc turning himself in. I have to say Jodies interviews really struck a chord, this has been really hard on her, she's fucking devistated.
Then yesterday I'm browsing the CBC and I come across this story about a guy from New Brunswick, Dwight Hickey, who was due to be extradited to the US for selling a Polar Bear skin rug when he was living down in Geargia. Stupid, I know, but apparently you have to have proper import and sales permits for such items.
Anywho, our wonderful justice minister refused the extradition on thursday. In a three page letter to Mr. Hickeys legal aid attorny the justice minister outlined his reasons for his decision.
Quote:
The minister said he also received several letters of support from Hickey's friends and members of the public, requesting he decline the surrender.
"The letters speak to Mr. Hickey's good character and his positive contributions to the community. The writers also question the wisdom of extraditing Mr. Hickey given the perceived minor nature of the offence," the minister wrote.
"The letters speak to Mr. Hickey's good character and his positive contributions to the community. The writers also question the wisdom of extraditing Mr. Hickey given the perceived minor nature of the offence," the minister wrote.
The letters were short and to the point, basically outlining the fact that Marc has never been to the US and that his prosecution is politically motivated, grounds to have the extradition nullified. Will my letters make a difference? I don't know. Depends on how many others write letters I guess. It made me feal a little better anyways just to write them.
So if anyone has some free time check out this thread:How to free Marc Emery Read it over and write a letter to one or all of the people listed there. Let's hope for the best for Marc and Jodie.
Total Comments 4
Comments
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Congrats man on having the 420th blog post! There's a milestone we can all celebrate!
Oh, except for Mark Emery...poor guy...Posted 11-10-2009 at 04:29 by Potter 
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lol took me a minute for the significance of that number to sink in. And what a fitting topic.
Posted 12-10-2009 at 19:24 by motorhead 
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response to letters
If you write Jack Layton the NDP leader this is the response you will get. I got mine the other day.
This is the attached letter from Libby Davis:Quote:Thank you for your message regarding the extradition of Marc Emery to the United States.
Several years ago, when this matter became public, we voiced our
opposition the extradition of Mr. Emery. We believed then, as we do now, that it is wrong to extradite our citizens for an offence that would not - and, in this situation, did not - result in him being charged in Canada.
Please find attached a recent letter from Ms. Davies to Minister Rob Nicholson asking him to intervene on behalf of Mr. Emery.
Again, I appreciate hearing your concerns on this matter. All the best.
Sincerely,
Jack Layton, MP (Toronto-Danforth)
Leader, Canada’s New Democrats
That came in the mail. The response from my local MP came via email:Quote:September 28, 2009
The Honourable Rob Nicholson
Minister of Justice
105 East Block
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON
K1A 0A6
Dear Minister Nicholson,
I write once again to ask that you stop the extradition of Canadian Marc Emery to the United States and allow him to serve his prison sentence in Canada.
Canadian law enforcement officials have for a decade ignored Mr. Emery’s well publicized activities. I have expressed to you on many occasions my vehement opposition to sending Mr. Emery or any Canadian to face harsh punishment in another country when we have agreed as a society that these actions are not worthy of prosecution in Canada. Yet, your government has refused to intervene on Mr. Emery’s behalf and he will now serve a five year prison term in the United States.
It is my understanding that the United States government will allow Mr. Emery to remain in Canada to serve his sentence if the Government of Canada agrees. I therefore urge you to act in best the interest of this Canadian citizen and in the interest of Canadian sovereignty and allow Mr. Emery to serve his sentence in Canada.
I look forward to hearing from you as soon as possible on this urgent matter.
Sincerely,
Libby Davies, MP
Vancouver East
NDP Spokesperson for Drug Policy
Still nothing from the Justice Minister, surprise surprise. The NDP and the Liberals are putting on a good front, but I haven't heard or seen them bring this up during Question Period in the House since Parlaiment has resumed.Quote:Thank you for your recent correspondence regarding Marc Emery’s case. We know that the case is in the hands of Justice Minister, Mr. Rob Nicholson, and we still hope that the government will sign off the extradition order, as we would ask for any Canadian in the same situation. Unfortunately, we don’t have much control on those issues, but it will be our pleasure to talk with our colleagues in Ottawa to make sure they understand the repercussions of the Extradition Act Section.
Regards,
Luc Lapointe
Adjoint-exécutif/Executive Assistant Brian Murphy
Député/MP Moncton-Riverview-Dieppe
376 St. George St
Moncton, NB
E1C 1X2
(506) 851-3310Posted 22-10-2009 at 17:06 by motorhead
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So what - SWIM likes weed - go forth and multiply
Posted 22-10-2009 at 20:20 by welshmick
