The mens rea of pie

Like an actor misquoting Shakespeare, Liberal MP Gerry Byrne stumbles through a legislative interpretative dance.

In an interview with radio station VOCM in St. John’s on Tuesday, Mr. Byrne said he thinks what happened should be reviewed under the legal definition of terrorism.

“When someone actually coaches or conducts criminal behaviour to impose a political agenda on each and every other citizen of Canada, that does seem to me to meet the test of a terrorist organization,” said the MP from Newfoundland and Labrador.

“I am calling on the Government of Canada to actually investigate whether or not this organization, PETA, is acting as a terrorist organization under the test that exists under Canadian law.”

Unfortunately there is truth to what he speaks.

When most of us think of terrorists, we imagine foreigners (i.e. people who do not look like us) plotting nefarious, if ill conceived, acts in a foreign land. It is what is portrayed on televisions shows like 24 or in movies like True Lies. Rarely do we have a terrorist who is portrayed like a Timothy McVeigh. It is the unfortunate outcome of profiling.

The truth is that under the terrorism provisions of the Criminal Code, practically anyone could be a terrorist – including the evil pie throwers. “Terrorist activity” is defined, in part, as:

(b) an act or omission, in or outside Canada,

(i) that is committed
(A) in whole or in part for a political, religious or ideological purpose, objective or cause, and
(B) in whole or in part with the intention of intimidating the public, or a segment of the public, with regard to its security, including its economic security, or compelling a person, a government or a domestic or an international organization to do or to refrain from doing any act, whether the public or the person, government or organization is inside or outside Canada, and
(ii) that intentionally
(A) causes death or serious bodily harm to a person by the use of violence,
(B) endangers a person’s life,
(C) causes a serious risk to the health or safety of the public or any segment of the public,
(D) causes substantial property damage, whether to public or private property, if causing such damage is likely to result in the conduct or harm referred to in any of clauses (A) to (C), or
(E) causes serious interference with or serious disruption of an essential service, facility or system, whether public or private, other than as a result of advocacy, protest, dissent or stoppage of work that is not intended to result in the conduct or harm referred to in any of clauses (A) to (C),

and includes a conspiracy, attempt or threat to commit any such act or omission, or being an accessory after the fact or counselling in relation to any such act or omission, but, for greater certainty, does not include an act or omission that is committed during an armed conflict and that, at the time and in the place of its commission, is in accordance with customary international law or conventional international law applicable to the conflict, or the activities undertaken by military forces of a state in the exercise of their official duties, to the extent that those activities are governed by other rules of international law.

So, basically, a terrorist act involves a person or group who has a political, religious or ideological objective who intentionally causes death, harm, property damage, risk to public health or safety or interferes with an essential service.

Based on that definition, it is surprising that not more individuals and organizations are not listed on the terrorists lists. Take the PETA pie throwing incident.

· The pie thrower, as supported by PETA who claimed responsibility, supports the ethical treatment of animals, and in particular, is against the killing of seals. Clearly they have a political cause.

· The pie thrower intentionally threw a pie in the face of Minister of Fisheries. Thus we have an actus reus.

· By throwing the pie, the health and safety of the Minister was put in danger. Not to mention, the tofu cream pie probably caused damage to the Minister’s suit thereby requiring some serious dry cleaning bills (i.e. property damage).

· When the pie thrower was escorted out, she started yelling about the killing of seals. Thus, providing evidence of the mens rea.

Let’s set aside the video evidence of a woman, who was not a known journalist, was sitting in the front row, took out a pie, started babbling, and proceeded to approach the Minister and put the pie in her face (wake up ministerial staffers). Clearly there was a lapse of security, judgment and attention.

Thus, based on the definition of terrorist activity, both the pie thrower and PETA should be placed on the terrorist list. That way, their finances and assets can be frozen, and no financial organizations (including casinos), may entered into business with them. As an outlawed group, it would only be a matter of time that PETA would whither because of the starvation from funds. That way they would no longer have the funds to operate tofu cream missiles off the coast of Newfoundland. But that is just crazy talk, eh Gerry:

“The objective here should be to dispel rumours and conspiracy theories,” Gerry Byrne, the Liberal MP for Humber-St. Barbe-Baie Verte, told The Canadian Press yesterday.