Finley Case dismissed - no reason!

[Oscar]

2013-10-10 Census Lockheed Martin: my case is dismissed, without costs.

http://sandrafinley.ca/?p=10588

Democracy requirements, deficits, solutions, The Law: Charter Right to privacy of personal information Add comments

Oct 10 2013

To avoid confusion: I was charged in relation to the “long form census” which NO LONGER EXISTS.

It has been replaced by the National Household SURVEY. Under the Statistics Act, surveys are not mandatory. Citizens do not have to supply personal information, see Are StatsCan “surveys” mandatory?

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[ http://sandrafinley.ca/?p=10588 ]

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Supreme Court won`t hear Sask woman`s appeal over census refusal

[ http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/national/
Sandra+Finley+Supreme+Court+hear+Saskatoon+woman+appeal/9021009/story.html ]

By The Canadian Press October 10, 2013

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QUOTE: "As usual, the court gave no reasons for its decision not to hear the case."

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OTTAWA - The Supreme Court of Canada will not hear the appeal of a Saskatoon woman who refused to fill out the 2006 long-form census.

Sandra Finley was found guilty in 2011 of contravening the Statistics Act after she refused to fill out the questionnaire.

The provincial court gave her an absolute discharge, meaning she did not face any fine or jail time.

She argues that the act violates her right to be protected from unreasonable search and seizure.

Her main objection to the census focuses on a software contract Statistics Canada awarded to Lockheed Martin, which is also a major military contractor.

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[ http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/national/
Sandra+Finley+Supreme+Court+hear+Saskatoon+woman+appeal/9021009/story.html ]

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Elderly 'martyr in the making' acquitted on census charge

[ http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/canada/
Elderly+martyr+making+acquitted+census+charge/9019159/story.html ]

By Allison Jones and Hannah Spray, The Canadian Press, Postmedia News

October 10, 2013

A Toronto judge lambasted the government Wednesday for its prosecution of an 89-year-old "martyr in the making" who refused to fill out the 2011 census, and found her not guilty - the first of two cases involving the Statistics Act to be heard this week.

Audrey Tobias admitted she refused to fill out the basic personal information the census required because it was processed using software from U.S. military contractor Lockheed Martin, contrary to her beliefs as a peace activist.

But the judge noted there are two elements that the Crown must prove for a conviction: the act and the intent.

Tobias's testimony left Ontario Court Judge Ramez Khawly unsure whether she was accurately recalling her intent for refusing the census nearly 2 1/2years ago, or if the passage of time had "dimmed her memory."

That left Khawly with reasonable doubt of Tobias's intent and he said he therefore must acquit her.

There were 3,700 Canadians who refused to fill out the census, Tobias's one-day trial heard, and that list was whittled down through various criteria to about 50 people who Statistics Canada recommended taking to court. Among them is Sandra Finley, a British Columbia woman who will find out Thursday if the Supreme Court of Canada will hear her appeal of her conviction for refusing to fill out the 2006 census.

Like Tobias, she argued she didn't file her census because of Lockheed Martin. But the former Saskatoon resident was convicted in January 2011 after a trial in Saskatchewan's provincial court. She appealed the conviction to the Court of Queen's Bench and then to the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal, but lost both appeals. She then sought leave to appeal to the Supreme Court.

Finley said the Tobias ruling "bodes well" and she's hopeful the Supreme Court will agree to hear her case.

"I think what (my case) has done is helped to make many more Canadians aware of the role of Lockheed Martin in the Canadian census. And then that, coupled with other things becoming known about the degree of surveillance through the leaks done by Edward Snowden in the United States, I think the timing of all that ... may be compelling for the Supreme Court," Finley said. "I'm sure they look at a broader picture and the broader picture is this is a very, very serious issue to all Canadians."

Tobias and Finley took different lines of defence in their cases. Tobias argued that forcing her to complete the census would violate her charter right to conscience and free expression, while Finley argued it would violate her charter right to privacy of personal information.

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[ http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/canada/
Elderly+martyr+making+acquitted+census+charge/9019159/story.html ]