When you need to make a principled and inspirational stand for justice, who ya gonna call? I'm guessing not this guy (emphasis added):
Dead man's MP fears challenging RCMP
VANCOUVER -- Nathan Cullen is the [NDP] MP for Skeena-Bulkley Valley. Among others, he represents residents of the small mill town of Houston, in northeastern British Columbia. Linda Bush is a constituent of his.
Mr. Cullen has spoken to Mrs. Bush about the death of her 22-year-old son, Ian, last October. The young mill worker was shot in the back of the head at the RCMP detachment in Houston after being confronted by a police officer for holding an open can of beer outside the town's arena.
More than six months later, the family is still waiting for answers about Ian's death. Police have said it may be months yet.
And the problem? Ah, here we go:
Mr. Cullen is 33 and has been an MP for only two years. He'd like to think he's got a long political career ahead of him. Which is perhaps why he's apprehensive about making a big stink over the length of time it's taking the Bush family to get answers.
He's worried about what might happen if he angers the RCMP.
"They say don't ever pick a fight with the police as a politician because they'll find you and show up in the middle of the night and pull your family out with television cameras and talk about that deck you had built," the NDP MP said in an interview from Ottawa...
"The police are a significant force in our world and I'm exposed and that's the nature of my job."
"But it's common parlance among politicians that taking on the police is an extremely dangerous thing to do. You can ruin your career.
That's understandable -- the fear of confronting the RCMP with little more to back you up than your status as a member of the Parliament of Canada.
NDP MP Nathan Cullen:
"From Atlin to Bella Coola,
from Masset to Fort St. James ...
We live in one of Canada's largest
and most inspiring federal ridings.
I am honoured to be your voice in Ottawa."
Just not a really loud voice, if you catch my drift.
6 comments:
That's pretty weak.
More alarming is that the police seem to be succussfully intimidating politicians, even if they are the cowardly ones.
As a Dipper I;'m pretty shocked by that.
I think I need to write a few e-mails...
Thanks for the heads up CC.
Isn't that rich: anonymous blogger accuses public figure of cowardice.
I wonder: will Mr. Cynic be conducting his own investigation into the Horsemen's activities?
The real issue here isn't Mr. Cullen's reticence: it's the apparent common knowledge that the national police force will use it's powers to intimidate critics.
It's an odd kind of statement. Put another way, it reads "I'm afraid of pissing off the RCMP, so I'm going to make a public accusation that will surely piss off the RCMP."
Think it can't happen?
How is that RCMP investigation, announced in the middle of the last election campaign, into possible Finance department leaks on changes in income trust taxation policy going anyway?
Haven't heard too much about it lately...
22-year-old gets picked up for holding a open beer outside the arena and ends up shot in the back of the head by a mountie. How in the name of Dudley fucking Doright is this not a massive national news story? The spinelessness of the MP is appalling but so is the spinelssness of the national press.
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