Arrest Premier Doug Ford for Public Mischief

On August 9, 2018, the Premier of Ontario, Mr. Doug Ford, responded to a reasonable question by the official opposition about how he was going to inform Ontario's residents about his decision to cancel the recently implemented Guaranteed Income Program.

Mr. Doug Ford's response was to accuse NDP MPP Taras Nvtyshak of 'throwing a landmine in here to blow this place up'.

While Mr. Ford might have thought this was funny, such a statement is in fact, an act of Public Mischief, specifically, in violation of Section 140 of the Criminal Code of Canada.

"The crime of public mischief is defined as taking any of the following actions with intent to mislead, and which causes a law enforcement officer to enter on or continue an investigation:

1. Making a false statement that accuses some other person of having committed an offence;

2. Doing anything intended to cause some other person to be suspected of having committed an offence that the other person has not committed, or to divert suspicion from himself;

3. Reporting that an offence has been committed when it has not been committed; or

4. Reporting or in any other way making it known or causing it to be made known that he or some other person has died when he or that other person has not died."

In regards to the actions of Mr. Ford in the Legislature, I refer specifically to number 2.

Despite the innocuous sounding name, 'public mischief' is considered a serious crime, punishable by a maximum of five years in prison.

My question is this. Why hasn't Mr. Ford been arrested yet? Are 'jokes' accusing other people of making bomb threats considered acceptable, even if the Premier makes them? Is the Premier of Ontario above the law?

My answer is that no, the Premier of Ontario is not above the law. Canada derives our legal precedent from British Common Law. The Magna Carta of 1215 has established that no one, not even the King or Queen is above the law.

Mr. Doug Ford has clearly and undeniably committed an act of Public Mischief, and he MUST be arrested and charged by the Toronto Police . Mr. Ford has clearly demonstrated falsely accusing another person of a terrorist act, as has been well documented by the media and witnessed by millions on a world stage. Statements such as this should never be uttered or dismissed as a joke, nor taken lightly, despite whomever utters them.

We all remember how it was the buffoonish antics of Doug Ford's brother Rob that made the City of Toronto into an international laughing stock. Now, it seems clear that Mr. Doug Ford clearly intends to use those very same tactics in the Ontario legislature.

Mr. Doug Ford already has a checkered past with the Toronto Police, from his history as a high school drug dealer. Is Mr. Ford now taunting the Toronto Police again by openly committing illegal acts in the Ontario legislature building before a world stage, while acting as Premier of the province?

Former Ontario Premier Mike Harris was charged with the murder of Dudley George. He was made to stand trial. This happened while he was Premier. Should we not make sure that Doug Ford also faces the consequences for his outrageous statement?

Procedure: Our first step is to collect the signatures of people who agree with the prosecution of Mr. Ford. With these collected signatures, we can petition the Mayor of Toronto, the Toronto Chief of Police, perhaps even the Supreme Court and the Prime Minister, to have Mr. Doug Ford charged with Public Mischief and arrested.

The next step might be to call the Toronto Police ourselves, asking them to charge and arrest Rob Ford for Public Mischief. The Police might not take our individual calls seriously, however with hundreds or thousands of such calls, they are either going to have to proceed with the investigation, or issue a public statement explaining why Doug Ford can publicy make such statements, while the rest of us are not allowed to. 

This is why having a petition to deliver to the Chief of Police and to the Mayor's office becomes so important.

The next step might be contacting a Justice of the Peace and laying charges that way. The Justice of the Peace may issue a bench warrant against Mr. Ford. 

We may also require a legal defense team as well as the means of financing them.