Editorial in Globe and Mail

The Globe and Mail, for those that might not know, is Canada's leading National Newspaper.

Globe editorial - Braidwood means a whole new start [LINK]

Please read the entire editorial at the link provided above.

What follows are some extracts that will hopefully encourage you to do so.


If the taser can kill in B.C., it can kill in New Brunswick or Ontario. Its use should be drastically curtailed, everywhere...

Everything known about tasers – everything the provinces and police forces think they know – should now be treated as junk.

Among the most egregious and most influential pieces of junk is the “research” report of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police on the supposed safety of the taser, notwithstanding the 25 people who have died in this country, and 300 in the United States, after being tasered. That report can now be tossed in the garbage bin where it belongs.

RCMP Commissioner William Elliott, unlike the police chiefs, had already publicly conceded that tasers can kill, but Mr. Braidwood said his policy revisions did not go far enough.


I note with some satisfaction that the Globe and Mail is using the word "tasers" with the lowercase 't'. This is in keeping with the nominative use of the word, referring specifically to the torture device made by Taser International, the one that can cause death, and avoiding use of the trademarked version of the word in all uppercase. This approach is perfectly in keeping with trademark rules, and it also annoys the folks at Taser International.


This crux of the matter, for those that are having difficulty keeping up, is the following 'sound bite' sized summary.

Denying the risk of death, as per the perverted worldview of Taser International, increases the risk for everyone (because of overuse, misuse, and abuse). And that's evil (unnecessary deaths, inexcusable torture).