A police officer in Guelph, Ont., has been videoed beating a man on the front porch of his home.

The video, posted to Twitter Wednesday, shows a police officer straddling the 64-year-old man and landing a heavy punch to his face and another one to his head.

The officer takes a quick look back and when he sees he is being videoed, yells out: “Stop resisting.”

Another officer arrives and the pair drag the man into his doorway as they continue to try and handcuff him.

“Look at what the the officer is doing,” exclaims the cameraman, who alleges the officer also kneed the man in the head. That is not shown in the video.

“This is an old, frail man they are doing this to.”

The man screams in agony and yells expletives as the video goes off.

Guelph police issued a statement on the arrest.

“On January 12, 2021, at 1:13pm, members of the Guelph Police Service found an adult male out front of a residence. The male was wanted on a warrant from the Huronia West Division of the Ontario Provincial Police,” said the release.

“As police tried to arrest the male, a struggle ensued as he resisted arrest. Ultimately police were able to gain control and placed him under arrest.

“A 64-year-old Guelph male has been additionally charged with Resist Arrest. He will appear in court on April 30, 2021 to answer to this charge and was subsequently released.”

Dave Naylor is the News Editor of the Western Standard
dnaylor@westernstandardonline.com
Twitter.com/nobby7694

BC Premier John Horgan has brought in his lawyers to ask them whether he has the constitutional authority to ban residents from other provinces from entering his province’s borders.

He has mused about the idea before, but most pundits believe such a move would be clearly unconstitutional.

Horgan said Thursday he and other NDP cabinet ministers will discuss the travel ban in a virtual meeting later in the day.

“People have been talking about a ban for months and months, as you know, and I think it’s time we put it to bed finally and say either, ‘We can do it, and this is how we can do it,’ or ‘We can’t,'” Horgan told a press conference.

“We have been trying our best to find a way to meet that objective … in a way that’s consistent with the charter and other fundamental rights here in Canada. So, legal advice is what we’ve sought.”

Horgan wants to put the ban in place to try and stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

Section 6. (2) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms states, “

Every citizen of Canada and every person who has the status of a permanent resident of Canada has the right: to move to and take up residence in any province; [and] to pursue the gaining of a livelihood in any province.”

The premier admitted news across the country of politicians jetting out of the country for sand and surf destinations had “led to a firestorm of frustration and anger.”

“On the surface, a ban would seem an easy thing to do — to just tell people not to come here. That’s not part and parcel of who we are as Canadians,” Horgan said.

In November, Horgan said: “We need a pan-Canadian approach to travel. People in Quebec and Manitoba should stay in Quebec and Manitoba.

“We want to make sure we have an approach to travel not inconsistent with citizenship. Non-essential travel should not be happening in British Columbia,” he said.

So far, BC has had over 59,000 cases of COVID-19 with 1,031 deaths.

Dave Naylor is the News Editor of the Western Standard
dnaylor@westernstandardonline.com
Twitter.com/nobby7694

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation says the controversy swirling around Lesser Slave Lake MLA Pat Rehn shows the need for provincial recall legislation.

Rehn was booted from the UCP caucus on Thursday morning after Premier Jason Kenney claimed that he was not doing enough to help represent his constituents.

Rehn was one of seven UCP snowbird MLAs who jetted out of the province over the holidays while their own government had Albertans under a strict lockdown.

Rehn tweeted a picture of himself from a cave in Mexico, one of the moves that kicked off the entire scandal.

“Kenney kicked Rehn out of caucus, but it should be up to his constituents whether he stays in the legislature or gets sent packing,” said Franco Terrazzano, the CTF’s Alberta Director, in a Thursday statement.

“The premier has done all he can and now it should be up to the people to decide whether Rehn should continue to collect his six-figure MLA paycheque.”

Last week, the mayor and entire council of Slave Lake called on their MLA to resign in an open letter.

In a withering letter to Rehn, the entire Slave Lake council alleged a litany of problems they have had with Rehn.

Rehn will now sit in the legislature as an independent MLA with an annual salary of $120,936. MLAs also receive $16,548 through a retirement investment payment along with other expenses and benefits.

Kenney promised recall legislation when he was campaigning in 2019 and has made the vow again after the election.

The province’s Democratic Accountability Committee recommended a 40 per cent signature threshold to trigger a recall by-election. The CTF has recommended the province set the threshold at 25 per cent of votes cast in the last election.

“Local politicians and constituents shouldn’t have to resort to backroom political brokering or rely on media coverage to hold their MLA accountable,” said Terrazzano.

“That’s why we need recall legislation that works for Albertans and let’s us hold politicians accountable.”

Dave Naylor is the News Editor of the Western Standard
dnaylor@westernstandardonline.com
Twitter.com/nobby7694