CowboyLogic
Active Member
the Crown presses charges. technically, as i understand criminal law in Canada, a crime is committed against Her Majesty The Queen in Right of Canada's Criminal Code. the Crown does not need the victim's consent to press charges - it differs from how the American system operates because they are a republic. lay person's understanding, btw. i just happen to read court rulings for fun sometimes and try to stay somewhat informed how it works (also, i worked in victims services for a couple years).
as much as i think that the Mayor and his brother are exagerrating the assault for political purposes, nonetheless i think the police acted appropriately laying charges. assaulting elected officials, even if it does not result in an injury (although, the Mayor could have sustained psychological damage like PTSD and now be afraid of being in public, have disrupted sleep, re-experience the trauma when triggered by drinks in cups being dropped in his presence, etc.), is a serious offense in a democracy. it does not mean an elected official is worth more than a citizen, but the ramifications are more serious.
Thanks for clarifying that, ahm.
The suggestion on here by some has been that Ford was personally pressing charges against Everett, and that just doesn't seem to be the case. Its possible that he did give consent to press charges, but there's nothing so far that suggests that.