Reverse Onus law: Bringing justice back to the dark ages.

As part of Harper's tough on crime policy, the federal government recently passed the Tackling Violent Crime Act, which amended the Criminal Code in various ways, including putting the onus on accused persons to prove their innocence, in a reverse of "innocent until proven guilty." While I have no problem about reducing violent crime, switching the burden over like this, especially onto parties which may not have the resources to compete with the Crown even when they are innocent, is very troubling.

From CTV comes news that "a dozen alleged members of the Crips" will be the first up against the reverse onus change. They have a bail hearing coming up on Thursday, which the case's prosecutor would like to push later to give him more time to ensure the law works in his favour. And nanny organizations like Guardian Angels are happy that the change is there, despite a general want for preventative action, not just heaping on more disciplinary action.

France is the only western democracy where the idea of "guilty until proven innocent" still caries much legal weight. I'd rather not see Canada return to that list, with its antiquated notions of justice, long made obsolete.