While in China, our Prime Minister Jean Chrétien expressed his understanding of a democratic society by saying that China must establish the Rule of Law, and that it is imperative that a judicial legal system be implemented to encourage international investment.

It is appalling to realize that Jean Chrétien, a man with multiple honorary Phd degrees in law, equates a judicial system not for the purpose to provide justice, but for the purpose to attract a million dollar. I ask myself how we can ever work for a better society when our own Prime Minister implies that "a million dollar is more important than justice." We remind Mr. Chrétien that 10 million dollars didn't bring justice for the wrongful incarceration of David Milgaard. And now, I fully understand today's role of the Rule of Law, an artifice to protect the people who own that million dollar, a million dollar, with no nationality, ready to move very quickly in every corner of the world. And how we can have justice and protection of human rights unless human rights are before the Rule of Law?

The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest expression of the Canadian Rule of Law. And in commenting on the Supreme Court's ruling that allows the police to use lies and threats to extract confessions, lawyer Clayton Ruby has stated:

"Our values are revealed. They are these: Lie, cheat, mislead if you must. Ignore tears and repeated protestations of innocence. But get a confession from whomever you have in your hands. That's the message the Supreme Court has just sent to police forces across our land. We're playing with fire"(2).

And this in turn reminds me of the sense of justice as expressed by former Saskatchewan prosecutor and MLA Serge Kujawa's

"It doesn't matter if Milgaard is innocent... The whole judicial system is at issue-it's worth more than one person."

And as today I read the news, I realize how criminal activities of the same police are protected by the Rule of Law. The Rule of Law should protect human rights and instead they protect the criminal activities of our police. The York police killed the father and wounded the brother of Lorenzo Romagnuolo in December 1998, and yet, after having done this shooting execution, the police had the courage to charge Romagnuolo for three different charges including bodily assault and threatening the police(3). Romagnuolo was acquitted of the first two charges last December, and fearful that Romagnuolo would be acquitted again and cause bad publicity, the police decided to drop the last charge. And again, today I re-read the criminal participation of Saskatoon Superintendent Brian Dueck in the Scandal of the Century(4), and again we have another play with the Rule of Law to cover the misdeeds of our police and governments.

And where are the protection of human rights by the Rule of Law? Our Rule of Law is above human rights, and this is wrong, and this is why we need an inquiry in our justice system, and this is why we need to re-establish human rights before the Rule of Law.

Endnotes

1. Chrétien turns up the heat on China, BRIAN LAGHI, February 15, 2001 http://www.theglobeandmail.com/gam/National/20010215/UCHINMSB.html

2. The Supreme Court of Canada: Using Psychology to find the Truth by Mario deSantis, October 21, 2000 http://www.ftlcomm.com/ensign/desantisArticles/2000_200/desantis245/supremecourt.html

3. Romagnuolo son angry as charges dropped. Wanted day in court: Father shot dead, brother wounded in struggle with police, Chris Wattie, National Post, February 14, 2001 http://www.nationalpost.com/search/story.html?f=/stories/20010214/474221.html

4. The Scandal of the Century and Brian Dueck http://injusticebusters.com/index.htm/Dueckangel.htm