Canadian Family Congress
British Columbia, Canada
BY FAX & E-MAIL
Minister of Justice and
Attorney General Canada
Hon. Minister Vic Toews
312 West Block House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario, CANADA
K1A 0A6
July 16, 2006
Copies to: Mr. Norman Doyle, Conservative MP for Newfoundland
Mr. Rob Moore, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice
Mr. Andrew House, Executive Assistant to Mr. Rob Moore
Dear Minister Toews:
Re: RCMP Officer assaults and threatens Byron Prior on Parliament Hill
On June 4, 2006, we requested a status report on the investigation into the allegations made by Mr. Prior against former Chief Justice T. Alex Hickman and others, with regard to crimes against himself and his siblings as children in Grand Banks, Newfoundland.
We have not yet received a response to our request.
It has now been brought to our attention by concerned members in Ottawa that on Friday, July 14, at approximately 3pm, Mr. Prior was physically assaulted, threatened, humiliated and provoked by an RCMP officer, whose name we choose to withhold for the moment.
Despite the fact that Mr. Prior’s concerns have been brought to the attention of the Department of Justice through correspondence to your office, to Mr. Moore and Mr. House by MP. Norman Doyle, this RCMP officer felt confident enough to physically assault and threaten Mr. Prior in front of the Houses of Parliament in Ottawa, in full public view and in broad daylight.
Mr. Prior and supporters have a recording of the humiliating accusations, the physically intimidating behaviour and threats, which include being called an “ass-hole” and an “idiot”.
The officer pushed Mr. Prior in the chest several times while intimidating him and accusing him of being on the hill without a valid permit. Mr. Prior has a permit to protest on Parliament Hill which is valid until July 31st, from 9am until 4pm each day of the week. This was confirmed to Mr. Prior by a supervisor of the RCMP in Ottawa following the assault by the RCMP officer on Friday.
Even if Mr. Prior’s permit had expired, the RCMP officer did not have the right to physically assault him.
Just last week Mr. Prior was assured by Mr. Andrew House, the executive assistant of Mr. Rob Moore, your Parliamentary Secretary, that his file was not being swept under the rug, so to speak, and that it was considered a priority.
This appears juxtaposed to the actions of the RCMP officer who felt that he had license to harass and intimidate Mr. Prior on Friday. His actions left Mr. Prior shaken and humiliated.
We are extremely concerned that an officer of the RCMP would be permitted to treat Mr. Prior in such a humiliating manner in full public view, especially considering the gross negligence of other law enforcement officers who have chosen to ignore Mr. Prior’s claims and allowed him and his siblings to remain indefinitely, victims of childhood sexual abuse.
If Mr. Prior was publishing libelous slander, then we are certain that Mr. Hickman and the other alleged perpetrators of the crimes against the young Prior children would have commenced legal action against Mr. Prior and his siblings. However, to date, they have relied on bullying tactics such as intimidation, harassment and assault in order to persuade the victims in this family to remain quiet. That these bullying tactics could be carried out in public on Parliament Hill in broad daylight in full view of tourists, the other protestors and agents of the CIA, is quite absurd and a sure message to us that we are not safe speaking out about crimes against children in Canada.
As the Criminal Code of Canada does not pose a statute of limitations on the sexual abuse of children, Mr. Prior has a right to ask that the alleged perpetrators of these crimes be investigated and brought to justice and the Department of Justice and its agents, have a duty to Mr. Prior, to his siblings and to all children who have been victimized, to investigate, prosecute and penalize the perpetrators.
We are encouraged by our new Prime Minister’s stance against crime and in this same vein we urgently request that Mr. Prior’s evidence be investigated and merited with the attention it deserves.
We furthermore request that the officer who assaulted Mr. Prior be interviewed and disciplined for his inappropriate behaviour.
Finally, we request that Mr. Prior be protected from further harassment. We believe that Mr. Prior should enjoy equal benefit and protection under the law as is stated in section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. We also believe that Mr. Prior’s right to freedom of expression, under section 2 of the Charter is paramount.
We mentioned in our previous communication that we believe Mr. Prior to be a whistler-blower, and as such, deserving of the protection that Prime Minister Harper has spoken about recently in Parliament and on his national tour.
If Mr. Harper intends to encourage citizens of Canada to speak out against corruption, which has almost ruined this beautiful country, then he needs to protect citizens like Mr. Prior.
Despite the several websites which exist to support Mr. Prior’s quest for justice and accountability, Martha Jette recently published a book called “Playing with the Devil”, which details Mr. Prior’s experiences at the hands of the alleged perpetrators of child sexual abuse in his home town in Newfoundland.
This book is being publicized on the Internet, and although written as fiction, it is intended to relate the truth about the victimization of the Prior children.
We refer to Mr. Rob Moore’s statement in the House of Commons Debates in Parliament on May 29, 2006, when you moved that Bill C-9, an Act to amend the Criminal Code(conditional sentence of imprisonment), be read for the second time and referred to a committee:
Mr. Rob Moore: “… To be clear, the overall strategy of Bill C-9 is to target serious crime. We read about serious crime every day in our newspapers from coast to coast to coast, and we hear on the radio and television about someone who has committed a serious offence against another member of society getting what Canadians call a slap on the wrist.
If we talk to Canadians in a Tim Hortons, for example, they will tell us that people are getting a slap on the wrist for serious crimes. There is no denunciation in that. There is no deterrent in that. It has been proven to be ineffective. We want to send a message that we take crime seriously. Canadians sent us that message and we are delivering on it.”
Please Honorable Minister, show us that your department takes crime seriously, and deliver justice to Mr. Prior and his siblings.
For the sake of all children and families in Canada,
Canadian Family Congress
Vancouver, British Columbia
Canada
Copies to:
Mr. Rob Moore MP
MP Fundy Royal
Hill Office
Room 609 Justice Building
House of Commons
Ottawa ON K1A 0A6
Tel:(613) 996 2332
Fax:(613) 995 4286
moorer@parl.gc.ca
Mr. Norman Doyle
MP Newfoundland and Labrador
Box 13003, Station A
City: St. John's, NL
Postal Code: A1B 3V8
Phone: 709-772-7171
Fax: 709-772-7175
Ottawa Address: 430 West Block
City: Ottawa, ON
Postal Code: K1A 0A6
Phone: 613-996-7269
Fax: 613-992-2178
Doyle.N@parl.gc.ca
British Columbia, Canada
BY FAX & E-MAIL
Minister of Justice and
Attorney General Canada
Hon. Minister Vic Toews
312 West Block House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario, CANADA
K1A 0A6
July 16, 2006
Copies to: Mr. Norman Doyle, Conservative MP for Newfoundland
Mr. Rob Moore, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice
Mr. Andrew House, Executive Assistant to Mr. Rob Moore
Dear Minister Toews:
Re: RCMP Officer assaults and threatens Byron Prior on Parliament Hill
On June 4, 2006, we requested a status report on the investigation into the allegations made by Mr. Prior against former Chief Justice T. Alex Hickman and others, with regard to crimes against himself and his siblings as children in Grand Banks, Newfoundland.
We have not yet received a response to our request.
It has now been brought to our attention by concerned members in Ottawa that on Friday, July 14, at approximately 3pm, Mr. Prior was physically assaulted, threatened, humiliated and provoked by an RCMP officer, whose name we choose to withhold for the moment.
Despite the fact that Mr. Prior’s concerns have been brought to the attention of the Department of Justice through correspondence to your office, to Mr. Moore and Mr. House by MP. Norman Doyle, this RCMP officer felt confident enough to physically assault and threaten Mr. Prior in front of the Houses of Parliament in Ottawa, in full public view and in broad daylight.
Mr. Prior and supporters have a recording of the humiliating accusations, the physically intimidating behaviour and threats, which include being called an “ass-hole” and an “idiot”.
The officer pushed Mr. Prior in the chest several times while intimidating him and accusing him of being on the hill without a valid permit. Mr. Prior has a permit to protest on Parliament Hill which is valid until July 31st, from 9am until 4pm each day of the week. This was confirmed to Mr. Prior by a supervisor of the RCMP in Ottawa following the assault by the RCMP officer on Friday.
Even if Mr. Prior’s permit had expired, the RCMP officer did not have the right to physically assault him.
Just last week Mr. Prior was assured by Mr. Andrew House, the executive assistant of Mr. Rob Moore, your Parliamentary Secretary, that his file was not being swept under the rug, so to speak, and that it was considered a priority.
This appears juxtaposed to the actions of the RCMP officer who felt that he had license to harass and intimidate Mr. Prior on Friday. His actions left Mr. Prior shaken and humiliated.
We are extremely concerned that an officer of the RCMP would be permitted to treat Mr. Prior in such a humiliating manner in full public view, especially considering the gross negligence of other law enforcement officers who have chosen to ignore Mr. Prior’s claims and allowed him and his siblings to remain indefinitely, victims of childhood sexual abuse.
If Mr. Prior was publishing libelous slander, then we are certain that Mr. Hickman and the other alleged perpetrators of the crimes against the young Prior children would have commenced legal action against Mr. Prior and his siblings. However, to date, they have relied on bullying tactics such as intimidation, harassment and assault in order to persuade the victims in this family to remain quiet. That these bullying tactics could be carried out in public on Parliament Hill in broad daylight in full view of tourists, the other protestors and agents of the CIA, is quite absurd and a sure message to us that we are not safe speaking out about crimes against children in Canada.
As the Criminal Code of Canada does not pose a statute of limitations on the sexual abuse of children, Mr. Prior has a right to ask that the alleged perpetrators of these crimes be investigated and brought to justice and the Department of Justice and its agents, have a duty to Mr. Prior, to his siblings and to all children who have been victimized, to investigate, prosecute and penalize the perpetrators.
We are encouraged by our new Prime Minister’s stance against crime and in this same vein we urgently request that Mr. Prior’s evidence be investigated and merited with the attention it deserves.
We furthermore request that the officer who assaulted Mr. Prior be interviewed and disciplined for his inappropriate behaviour.
Finally, we request that Mr. Prior be protected from further harassment. We believe that Mr. Prior should enjoy equal benefit and protection under the law as is stated in section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. We also believe that Mr. Prior’s right to freedom of expression, under section 2 of the Charter is paramount.
We mentioned in our previous communication that we believe Mr. Prior to be a whistler-blower, and as such, deserving of the protection that Prime Minister Harper has spoken about recently in Parliament and on his national tour.
If Mr. Harper intends to encourage citizens of Canada to speak out against corruption, which has almost ruined this beautiful country, then he needs to protect citizens like Mr. Prior.
Despite the several websites which exist to support Mr. Prior’s quest for justice and accountability, Martha Jette recently published a book called “Playing with the Devil”, which details Mr. Prior’s experiences at the hands of the alleged perpetrators of child sexual abuse in his home town in Newfoundland.
This book is being publicized on the Internet, and although written as fiction, it is intended to relate the truth about the victimization of the Prior children.
We refer to Mr. Rob Moore’s statement in the House of Commons Debates in Parliament on May 29, 2006, when you moved that Bill C-9, an Act to amend the Criminal Code(conditional sentence of imprisonment), be read for the second time and referred to a committee:
Mr. Rob Moore: “… To be clear, the overall strategy of Bill C-9 is to target serious crime. We read about serious crime every day in our newspapers from coast to coast to coast, and we hear on the radio and television about someone who has committed a serious offence against another member of society getting what Canadians call a slap on the wrist.
If we talk to Canadians in a Tim Hortons, for example, they will tell us that people are getting a slap on the wrist for serious crimes. There is no denunciation in that. There is no deterrent in that. It has been proven to be ineffective. We want to send a message that we take crime seriously. Canadians sent us that message and we are delivering on it.”
Please Honorable Minister, show us that your department takes crime seriously, and deliver justice to Mr. Prior and his siblings.
For the sake of all children and families in Canada,
Canadian Family Congress
Vancouver, British Columbia
Canada
Copies to:
Mr. Rob Moore MP
MP Fundy Royal
Hill Office
Room 609 Justice Building
House of Commons
Ottawa ON K1A 0A6
Tel:(613) 996 2332
Fax:(613) 995 4286
moorer@parl.gc.ca
Mr. Norman Doyle
MP Newfoundland and Labrador
Box 13003, Station A
City: St. John's, NL
Postal Code: A1B 3V8
Phone: 709-772-7171
Fax: 709-772-7175
Ottawa Address: 430 West Block
City: Ottawa, ON
Postal Code: K1A 0A6
Phone: 613-996-7269
Fax: 613-992-2178
Doyle.N@parl.gc.ca
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