Tuesday, May 28, 2019

Bananada! The day Canada became a banana republic.

That day was May 23, 2019. The day that the Supreme Court of Canada decided that the laws of Canada, specifically the Electrical Code which governs all electricity construction and repair in the country, can be privately owned. As of May 23rd 2019, it has been established that you have to pay money to a private company, the CSA, just to read the law. You have to buy a copy. From them.

The Supreme Court was the last chance to overturn Manson's Law, the Ruling that introduced private ownership of legislation.  Private law is now entrenched and unappealable.

As a result, any non-government employee who's ever contributed any text to legislation now owns that legislation privately.  And they can restrict public access to their law.  And they can charge for access, usage and enforcement.  And they can prevent governments from using their laws, making enforcement of law unequal, a patchwork of privilege based entirely on the preferences, biases, and financial interests of these owners of law.

As economic activity is always under a wide range of legislation, and as nearly all such legislation is contributed to by private interests, almost all economic activity is now subject to veto by any of the hundreds of contributors to the laws governing that activity.

It's more than a thumb on the scales of competition, it's a veto over every business activity in the Country given to those with vested interests in favouring one entity over another.


Emphasis mine.
Now, the above statement of fact is clearly insane. Private companies OWN the law? If you want to know the regulation way to install a light switch, you have to BUY ACCESS to the regulations. If you want to argue in court that your light switch was installed properly, you have to first BUY A COPY of the regulations.

Furthermore the company who made the light switch wrote the regulation. They can change the regulation to make your installation illegal if they don't like you. They can write the regulations to make it impossible for any other company to make a light switch. AND THEY DO. They do stuff like that all the fricking time. Ever wonder why electrical stuff is so expensive and so crappy in this country? That's why. CSA approval process, doing favors for Friends.

Who's going to do business in an environment like that? Nobody honest, that's for sure.

Now, lest anyone think this is only about the CSA, let me assure you this is only the little tip of the very big iceberg. This decision to do this flatly insane thing came from the Supreme Court of Canada. Highest court in the land. If they did this over electrical construction, try to imagine what they'll do to you on free speech, self defense, educating your kids, you car, your house and property, your savings account.

Its a banana republic now, folks. Anything goes.

2 comments:

RCPete said...

Wow. At least in the Untied States, while you'd have to purchase a hard copy of the National Electric Code (and goodies like the Handbook can get expensive), an on-line version is free.

The Phantom said...

Yep. CSA charges for the Code, and it is illegal to use a copied version. If you're an apprentice, you have to -buy- it. And the updates. Every. Fricking. Year.

Because the Canadian Electrical Code is PRIVATELY OWNED by the CSA. Which is a private company. Except for the fact that it is also government.

Nice, eh?