BEHAVIOUR UNLIKE A CITIZEN

Persistent good citizenship is as important as robust enforcement of
criminal law.

Citizenship is a privileged status that embodies individual liberty as the
right of all Canadians; a right entwined with responsibility to others,
and a duty to abide by the law.

In 1867, Britain created the Dominion of Canada, but chose to leave us
with the citizenship status of British subjects.

During the Second World War, Canadian soldiers, sailors and airmen fought
with great valour and distinction. Many were killed in combat, their
sacrifice still marked by the endless rows of white crosses in military
graveyards far from home.

It is extremely important to remember June 6, 1944; a grim day for
Canadian soldiers who stormed ashore on a Normandy beach designated Juno.
They overcame fierce resistance and established a beachhead and then
defended it against a counterattack by the 12th SS Panzer Division. In
just six short days, more than 1,000 Canadians died in battle and more
than 1,700 were injured.

In his epilogue to Holding Juno, author Mark Zuehlke said that "The Canada
we live in today exists because of the sacrifice of these young men who
marched to a call to fight in foreign lands against fascism. They gave
their all."

Immediately after the war, Canada's House of Commons enacted the Canadian
Citizenship Act creating a distinct legal citizenship for Canadians. I
will always believe that Canadian citizenship had its genesis on Juno
Beach.

Today, 65 years later, there is a growing disdain among Canadians to hew
to the straight and narrow. In this context, consider the counterfeited
citizenship of convicted grow-op gardener Judy Ann Craig of North
Vancouver.

As owner of a well-kept, attractively gardened bungalow, Craig carried on
a double life from 1998 to 2003. She presented a public persona of good
citizenship but in private she shrugged off moral and ethical restraints
and turned to the criminal business of producing and selling marijuana.
The grow-op was secretly embedded in her home.

North Vancouver's Judge Judy Gedye accepted Craig's guilty plea, chose not
to order forfeiture of her home, imposed a 12-month conditional jail
sentence, and a fine of $100,000.

The British Columbia Court of Appeal set aside the fine and ordered
forfeiture. On May 29, the Supreme Court of Canada clarified the law on
forfeiture by declaring that a trial judge has discretion to order full or
partial forfeiture, then it reversed the forfeiture order of the Court of
Appeal and washed its hands of the case saying "(we) would not at this
stage interfere either with (Judge Gedye's) decision not to order
forfeiture or with the decision of the court of appeal to set aside the
fine."

Regina vs. Craig, 2009 SCC 23, contains a terse summary of the facts:

"Ms. Craig was arrested, together with two other individuals, after police
observed them removing plants and paraphernalia from the residence and
attempting to conceal them on city property. The basement level and
portions of the main floor . . . were devoted to marijuana cultivation.
Her operation included three growing rooms and one drying room, as well as
industrial lighting, ventilation and irrigation systems.

"At the time of her arrest, police seized 186 marijuana plants (including
clones), packaging, scales, various other materials, and a container with
one pound of marijuana packaged for wholesale distribution. They also
seized cash, additional pre-packaged marijuana, and "score sheets"
documenting marijuana sales from her car. According to a police officer
with expertise in marijuana sales, the value of the plants was $87,500 and
the value of the marijuana seized from her was $15,000."

Here's a little insight into Craig's version of citizenship, gleaned from
Janice Tibbetts's May 30 report in the Vancouver Sun: "Craig testified in
court she started growing marijuana to help pull her out of an emotional
slump after her divorce, saying 'I needed a challenge to kick-start me out
of this state.'"

Tibbetts also reported an observation by Justice Catherine Ryan of the
British Columbia Court of Appeal, that Craig, a university graduate and
former real estate agent, had ample resources to pursue a legitimate
career.

Justice Ryan's observation portrays Craig as a person who ought to have
struggled through a tough patch in life rather than swallowing the lure of
quick and easy money producing marijuana.

In my opinion, Judy Ann Craig, a Jekyll and Hyde citizen, and covert
criminal, day in and day out for five years, should have been punished
with a deterrent jail sentence; one that would send a message to all other
counterfeit citizens masking their criminal activity.

But decide for yourself whether Craig's abuse of the privilege of
citizenship was an aggravating factor that ought to have lead to a real
jail sentence.

And decide for yourself whether the sacrifice of those young men, who
fought and died for us 65 years ago, is being sullied by too many
Judy-Ann-Craig Canadians.