Freedom Flyer 16

In a departing public statement before retiring from the bench, Ontario Chief Justice William Howland has delivered a timely warning about the perils of systematic violations of the rule of law.

"When people say, 'I am going to defy the law' - and I have read that several times - I don't think they have stopped to think of the ramifications if everyone did it," he said.

With appropriate judicial restraint, Howland carefully avoided naming names or citing instances of defiance, but his remarks coincide with continuing defiance by major food chains of the provincial law restricting Sunday shopping. While this unwieldy and controversial legislation inhibits freedom of choice, and should be repealed, it should nonetheless be obeyed so long as it remains on the books.

In a democracy, non-violent civil disobedience can only be justified as a last resort when profound questions of moral principle are at stake. For example, Martin Luther King Jr. had ample grounds for deliberate violation of segregation laws in the United States, and willingly accepted the consequences of his actions by going to jail to affirm the sincerity of his protest.

But, in his remarks, Ontario's retiring chief justice also said that if a law no longer represents the will of the people, it should be changed - a further reminder of how central the rule of law is to the peaceful functioning of our society. With polarized issues like Sunday shopping, however, it's hard to determine when a law no longer represents popular opinion. Polls are an imperfect gauge of popular sentiment.

Unpopular laws provoke resentment, especially when they offend so fundamental a principle as freedom of choice. In democratic societies, though, there are processes for changing them, short of defiance. Opponents are free to lobby for change and to challenge laws in the courts.

In Ontario's Sunday shopping controversy, those defying the law - and proclaiming their intention to continue doing so - undermine their cause. The same food retailers would doubtless be outraged if they were victimized by law- breakers - by week-day pickets impeding access to their premises, say.