As expected… those Canadian firebombers

THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andy Blatchford

Yesterday, I bet Canadian Dollars to Tim Horton doughnuts that something like this was going to happen.  I want double-glazed maple doughnuts…

It seems there is a feeling among at least some Canadians that no matter what their citizens do in Mexico, the Mexicans are to blame for whatever consequences follow their actions.   With two Montreal women detained in connection with the firebombing of a Nissan dealership (and a sub-office of the Secretariat of Communications and Transportation) ,  I suppose a protest by a couple of dozen people — bearing a banner in…  Frañol? … Espançais? — were out in front of the Mexican consulate in Montréal.

The protesters wouldn’t speak to the media… in Spanish, French or English.  Someone described as “well-known activist Jaggi Singh” (apologies, I have no idea who he is) read out a document from something called the “Committee of Support for Imprisoned Comrades” that, as boiler plate, was in serious need of update.

Canadians are STILL apparently going with the tried and true “we poor Canadians can’t get a fair trial because — as Singh’s statement read — “the Mexican justice system…considers those detained to be guilty until proven innocent”.  Damn, too bad the Constitution was changed back in 2008 to confirm the presumption of innocence in criminal cases (, and  that is just not true  (much to the chagrin of some).

While one Canadian legal site does warn that “…according to the second article of the reform decree, those changes will be enforced within 8 years after of June 18, 2008 until the secondary legislation is changed”, it’s rather irrelevant to this whole mess… they were arrested in the Federal District, where the presumption of innocence has already been introduced (the popular film, Presumable culpable played a minor part in the change, but it was already in the works when that film was released).  And, anyway, the pair was caught pretty much red-handed, the charges against them are possibly serious enough that if they had happened in Canada (or the U.S. or Great Britain) the “alleged” perpetrators would have found themselves held without bail, and probably incommunicado, whereas the Mexican authorities did notify the Canadian consulate and the two are receiving consular assistance.

None of which really matters.  If you’re going to throw firebombs in foreign countries, you’re going to go to jail.  Even if you are Canadian.