Ezra made the fundamental point that even if you have broadly written language there are the traditional protections the defendant has when he is called into a criminal court. There is a reason why section 13 is attractive essentially to politically motivated ideological crusaders. That is because the defendant does not enjoy the traditional protections of the Criminal Code. He does not enjoy the right to confront his accuser in open court. His accuser has the prosecution paid for. The balance between the judge, the jury, and the prosecution under the tribunal system is completely wrecked. Until they had a falling out, thanks in part to Ezra and me in recent weeks, the tribunal was essentially the house pet of the commission. No matter what our problem may be with section 319 of the Criminal Code, it is still better to have a broadly written section of the Criminal Code than something such as section 13, which is appallingly written but also offers the defendant none of the traditional protections.
On October 5th, 2009. See this statement in context.