NO GOOD DEED GOES UNPUNISHED IN CANADA - BOB VERDUN

Today's Waterloo Region Record carrys the following story "Verdun protests house arrest". Both the Record and the judge Robert Goldstein seem to enjoy piling on as they gratuitously insult Mr. Verdun during and after his sentencing of seven months house arrest. Keep in mind the sentence is for contempt of court due to his being abroad while a stay was in place for a 90 day house arrest sentence. His appeal was dismissed in his absence and he was ordered home to serve the 90 day sentence forthwith. Instead he arrived back in Canada thirteen days later and was charged again with contempt of court.

What as usual the Record manage to avoid mentioning is that the first contempt of court conviction was based upon Mr. Verdun going to his federal member of parliament, Steven Woodsworth for assistance. This allegedly broke the injunction against Mr. Verdun speaking about a civil suit regarding a wealthy indiviual who sucessfully sued Mr. Verdun. Our courts are nothing if not fair and hence just like any other wealthy individual with very high connections; the courts found in favour of wealth and status. It seems to me that the way our courts and judicial system are going, soon all of us will be guilty of contempt of court. I must add that I am not referring remotely only to our civil system but also our criminal system.

Mr. Verdun has long been a target of wealthy and priveleged individuals as he has championed in Elmira and elsewhere for environmental accountability as well as political, financial and legal transparency and accountability. As such he has offended many powerful movers, shakers and liars over the decades. Our courts in their infinite hypocrisy are simply allowing themselves to criminalize and stigmatize a public interest advocate. I can not suggest that Mr. Verdun's case alone has made me contemptuous of our courts, our politicians and our so called democratic system. It's taken a lifetime of abuses of power and authority to do that.