ICE is Not Law Enforcement

So why, you ask, am I writing about what is probably the most obvious thing to all sane people. The answer is: to put a reasoned argument on the record.

Law enforcement investigates crimes and apprehends suspected criminals and puts cases before prosecutors that decide whether there is sufficient evidence to put them before the courts. Law enforcement also enforces arrest warrants issued by the courts.

Law enforcement arrests specific individuals where there are reasonable grounds to believe they committed a crime or where a court order has been issued.

The courts decide whether suspects should be detained during trial and whether they are guilty what the punishment should be. Judges also issue arrest warrants for suspects or convicted criminals at large. This is what we call due process.

Law enforcement officers, the police, are constrained by the rule of law and must obey the law and must not mistreat suspects or prisoners. In the case of police misconduct there are provisions for consequences and due process procedures that must be followed. We may not always agree with the findings of said due process but it exists.

Law enforcement does not round up groups of people based on their appearance or the colour of their skin, or the language they are speaking, or the fact they are participating in legal protests or because they swear at them.. Law enforcement does not routinely engage in thuggery or murder people without consequences. Law enforcement does not detain in concentration camps and even deport. people without due process or court orders (or in some cases in contravention of court orders). Law enforcement are not told by their superiors that the law does not apply to them. Law enforcement are not encouraged by their superiors to mistreat people and break the law. Law enforcement are not told they may do what they please and that they will suffer no consequences because the highest offices in the land have their backs.

ICE is no more law enforcement than the Gestapo or the SS, the KGB or the Stasi, ICE is NOT law enforcement and should not be treated as such by actual law enforcement agencies. They are not their brothers but are the criminals they are paid to pursue and bring to justice.

Why I am not Rejoining the New Democratic Party (NDP)

I decided to put more thought into rejoining the party to be able to vote for the new federal leader after receiving an invitation to join from the Avi Lewis campaign and noticing him following me on mastodon.

Back in my university days, and for quite a few years after that, I was very active in the Ontario NDP (which at that time included federal party membership), actively working on campaigns, both provincial and federal, serving on constituency association executives in both Sudbury and Kanata, and attending provincial council meetings and conventions. As well I was an Ontario Waffle supporter and Left Caucus member.

I left the party partly due to disillusionment, due to it’s move away from social democratic ideology towards left wing populism, and partly in order to be freer as a blogger to criticize the party without feeling disloyal.

I have consistently voted NDP both provincially and federally except for two occasions. Once I voted CPC(M-L) as a protest vote after Stephen Lewis tried to force the Waffle out of the Ontario NDP. The other was a strategic vote against the Mike Harris government, when I voted for Marianne Wilkinson, who I had supported municipally in Kanata and who had left the Ontario Conservatives to run as a Liberal due to Mike Harris’s policies, and who might have actually had a chance to defeat the Conservative candidate.

However I have no desire to become active in party politics at this time and I have always felt leaders should be chosen by party activists (even if they are only active during election campaigns) and I have been quite critical of the recent practice of political parties using leadership campaigns as recruiting tools.

Back in my day, when I was politically active, political parties were run by party activists, the ones who attended meetings, canvassed during elections, called voters and put up signs. These were the people that voted for the parties policies, chose the candidates and elected the leaders.

Nowadays political parties have decided that it is expedient to use nomination meetings and leadership votes as a way to recruit new members. Whoever can recruit the most new members tends to win nomination votes and leadership candidates that can sign up the most new members tend to win leadership contests. It is no longer long term members choosing party candidates and leaders but new members that tend to make the difference when it comes to these decisions. And during election campaigns the policy is not taken from the party policy book but dictated by the leader.

(Source: THE FIFTH COLUMN: On Democracy)

So, despite the temptation, I have decided to remain an independent voter and commentator.

Farewell to The Old Oak Tree

Our Old Oak Tree (actually the city's tree) which we have had since we moved into our house in 1979, although it looked healthy, had enough damage to make it a safety hazard, so it has come down. It will be replaced by the City with a new Oak tree next year. The photo collage below shows the tree in the beginning, the end, and after it was gone.

 

The slideshow below memorialize the tree. The first two photos were taken in 1980, the rest in December 2025. The photos were taken with my Panasonic Lumix FZ300. Photo editing was mostly done with Franzis Photo Projects software.