July 8, 2006: Treason

Bob Tarantino: The changing face of treason National Post, July 07, 2006
www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/editorialsletters/
story.html?id=21f3afd8-4b7d-4988-a050-b397e910aa7e

Are you a scofflaw? You may be, and not even know it. Canada's Criminal Code contains all sorts of obsolete laws that authorities haven't enforced for decades. This week and next, Toronto-based blogger and legal expert Bob Tarantino is introducing readers to come of these dusty prohibitions. In today's third instalment, he traces the evolution of Canada's ban on treason, sedition and other 'crimes against the state.'

Who dares call it treason? Better yet, what do they dare call treason? The issue recurs throughout Canadian history, and is addressed in accordance with the concerns of the day. Threats to the person of the monarch were considered treason in the 19th century; labour strife fit the bill between the World Wars; communist infiltration was the rage during the Cold War; now there are post-9/11 jihadist threats, such as the alleged conspiracy by 17 Toronto-area Muslims to blow up city landmarks.

Few sections of the Criminal Code offer as clear a glimpse of our past as do the provisions relating to treason, sedition and other "crimes against the state." [....]