January 10, 2024

Quebec police warn citizens not to post video of individuals stealing packages from doorsteps because it might amount to "defamation."

On that theory, they should tell you never to speak in public about anyone, because you might defame them. What is the law of defamation in Quebec? Is there still a criminal provision?

How could a video of package theft be false? I don't know, but I'm going to stop redelivering misdelivered packages that arrive at my door. What if that video were run backward and put it on line? Context!

86 comments:

RideSpaceMountain said...

But what if you use video editing software to conceal their faces while putting meme-worthy little party hats on the thieves and goofy little messages on their shirts that say "I am why we can't have nice things"?

Is that still defamation? Come on folks...we need to get creative about how we reintroduce shame to a shameless society.

Mock them in the morning
Mock them in the evening
Mock them at suppertime
When shitty porch pirates steal your hard-earned shit
You can mock them any time

gilbar said...

if i post a video of someone taking a package from my porch..
and DON'T mention that they're stilling it.. HOW is it "defamation"?
What rights to privacy do YOU have, on MY property?

rhhardin said...

Don't walk backwards, is all.

cassandra lite said...

O Canada is now spelled with a zero.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Canada - please get rid of The Castro Family as your corrupt insane leaders. The Castros lead to nothing but dread and misery.

hombre said...

Stupidity is on the rise. Stupidity among cops is very dangerous. Canada seems to be in the lead in the stupid race.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

How about a photo of the dead thief?

Temujin said...

Insanity.
Canada used to be our quiet, polite, civil, sane neighbor to the north. They've gone completely nuts in Trudeau's time. But clearly, the foundation for this insanity was planted years before, in their schools, like our own demise was done.

Who do we have to emulate or admire anymore? Is there one sane country, one sane group of people left around the world?

n.n said...

Stop hitting yourself... is a grade school taunt by bullies with an authoritarian disposition.

Trollinator1000 said...

Pro-tip to the Canadian prisoners; if you were to post the video played backwards, presumably to show the whole world about a mysterious gift-giver that left something at your door, you should be in the clear!

n.n said...

The government advises citizens to disarm, take a knee, and bray to the gods of social justice.

JAORE said...

I agree with a comment above. How about a, "Look what just happened" post. Never said thief. Is that defamation?

But it's example #47,561 of how we are inching towards the abyss.

Quaestor said...

The Quebec police are also demanding proof of a crime BEFORE they will launch an investigation. If I have proof, what is there to investigate?

Jake said...

Canada is all kinds of f-d up right now when it comes to common sense.

rcocean said...

Translation: By putting video on line, you're making us look bad. We don't care about your package getting stolen and we want to eat dougnuts and drink coffee at the police station. Also, don't call us about your package. We don't care. We don't have to.

Its Canada.

Quayle said...

Bad people don't like feeling bad. So, stop it.

We're striving for a guilt and regret free society.

rcocean said...

Given this logic, no one should film anyone and post it on the net. Especially if they committing a crime. Who knows why they ran over that pedistrian or mugged that old lady, let them have their privacy!

rcocean said...

Last comment. Summers tweets:

"The world has gone mad."

i hate this shit. Why do people on the Right, and Center right, always post this weak, vague, low energy statements. I read it and like, can't you say something about it? Get upset? attack who's responsible?

Instead, oh gosh the what a crazy world we live in. haha. whata you gonna do?

The Vault Dweller said...

Recently, one my packages was misdelivered. It went to my neighbors' doorstep instead of mine. Because my neighbors spend the winter in Arizona, I took the package from the doorstep without speaking to anyone in the house. I suppose if video of that got published someone could mistakenly believe I had stolen a package. But I am willing to bear that risk and the short explanation it would take to resolve to ensure videos of porch pirates get spread far and wide and those lawnyard larceners get what's coming to them.

Quaestor said...

"How about a photo of the dead thief?"

It will come to that. Biden and Little Fidel are fools to think they can ceaselessly abuse the taxpayer and not be held to account.

mikee said...

I've gone next door to retrieve packages misdelivered, after recognizing my neighbors' door in the picture of delivery. I don't knock, I don't text, I don't ask, I just pick up my package, wave to the Ring doorbell, and leave. Never been asked what was up. And so far no arrests, or even interrogations, and AFAIK no YouTube defamatory videos. I've also redelivered packages for them left at at my door. I have good neighbors.

As for porch package thieves, shame doesn't work as well as glitter stink bombs.

mikee said...

Also, Glitter Bomb 5.0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWeu2dxHRDg

The Vault Dweller said...

Blogger rcocean said...

"The world has gone mad."

i hate this shit. Why do people on the Right, and Center right, always post this weak, vague, low energy statements. I read it and like, can't you say something about it? Get upset? attack who's responsible?

Instead, oh gosh the what a crazy world we live in. haha. whata you gonna do?


I agree with you. In fact I think it is worse than being not helpful, I think it actually winds up being harmful and making the decried activity more likely to occur. A lot of how people view things as right or wrong has to do with what is the expected outcome. The more media gets flooded with messages of, "Oh jeeze can you believe this happened?" the more and more people will expect that same thing to happen. All the posts decrying people being canceled for fairly minor or even benign things trained people to expect that cancelling to occur and made it easier for the cancelers to cancel because people grew to expect it to happen regardless of how they felt about it personally.

Justabill said...

At the risk of sounding repetitive, what does this tell you about how the powers that be rank individuals and behaviors in Canada.

Wince said...

Instead of a rebuttable presumption, is this message from the Quebec Police what we should call a "butt-headed" presumption of innocence?

CJinPA said...

"Now we're going to need two walls." - Funny response on X.

Unfunny response:
What if the black delivery driver, not in uniform, comes back to pick up a misdelivered package off a porch with a security camera and is posted online?

Is he presumed a "thief" and you get to post his image accusing him of that online? Cmon people, go to the cops already...

Note, the English and Canadian left are usually just one step ahead of the American left.

Darkisland said...

I blame Chuck.

King Chuck, that is.

And Canadians for continuing to be hi subjects.

Maybe it is time for Canada to follow our 250 year lead and have an insurrection.

Elect your own government instead of relying on king chuck's governor General to appoint one.

This is just sad.

John Henry

Big Mike said...

The Liberals of Canada, like the Democrats of the USA before them, are explicitly making it clear that they are on the side of the criminals and opposed to ordinary citizens in general and the victims of crimes in particular.

Readering said...

Canadian cop: "thanks for getting our message out"

Breezy said...

Wouldn’t posting concealed-face videos curtail the number of package thefts, without implicating anyone at the time? There’d be an implicit threat of future exposure, and cops could go eat their donuts and coffee knowing the number of those crimes will decrease. Maybe that’s bad though because then no one can be chastised about the thieves’ rights.

Original Mike said...

How would the thief bring the defamation case?

Sebastian said...

"crazy world"?

Entirely rational, from a prog perspective. The underprivileged have priority over privileged citizens. People who need to steal to survive are underprivileged. People who have porches to which packages get delivered are privileged. People whose stealing gets recorded suffer stigma and possible mass incarceration. People who do the recording promote inequity. Therefore--. QED.

Quite apart from the prog priority of sticking it to the deplorable property-hogging bourgeoisie good and hard. What's yours ain't yours; it's there for the taking.

cfs said...

So they are saying the destruction of civilization will not be live-streamed after all?

Big Mike said...

I watched the video. The police spokesman claimed that the right thing to do is call 911 and turn the video over to the police, and they will investigate it properly. Ah, Benoit, let me explain it to you. No. One. Trusts. The. Effing. Police. To. Do. Anything. Comprenez-vous?

Rocco said...

rcocean said...
"Translation: By putting video on line, you're making us look bad. We don't care about your package getting stolen and we want to pass out dougnuts and coffee to protesters blocking a highway. Also, don't call us about your package. We don't care. We don't have to."

FIFY

MadisonMan said...

If you post a video of something happening, and make no comment, how is this defamatory?

MadisonMan said...

Oh, I see others made my same point. Shame on me for posting before reading.
My other conclusion might be the opinion that Govt officials have organized a porch-pirating ring! Now they're trying to prevent evidence being taken!

Cameron said...

You can still deliver packages that end up on your doorstep by mistake. Just wear a big clock around your neck like Flava Flav while you do it. And make sure it has a second hand.

TaeJohnDo said...

I'm on a RV FB Group with a lot of Canadian members. One day, in the middle of a thread someone thanked a member for their post and the person responded, "Of course. I'm Canadian. We are always polite, welcoming, respectful and courteous to others, even those we don't agree with." I responded, "Tell that to the Canadian Truckers."

Crickets after that.

Canada, like Our Republic, is in trouble.

Rocco said...

JAORE said...
"I agree with a comment above. How about a, "Look what just happened" post. Never said thief. Is that defamation?

But it's example #47,561 of how we are inching towards the abyss.
"

Inching? We're running blindly towards it with a pair of scissors in each hand.

Rocco said...

How does this "Defamation" rule apply to traffic cameras?

Scott M said...

How could a video of package theft be false?

A valid question in the era before deepfake and, worse, AI-assisted deepfake. It's only going to get worse before, if it ever does, get better.

Bob Boyd said...

Also, don't post a video of someone posting a video of someone stealing a package.

rehajm said...

"The world has gone mad." i hate this shit. Why do people on the Right, and Center right, always post this weak, vague, low energy statements. I read it and like, can't you say something about it? Get upset? attack who's responsible?

Now that I know what gets under their skin I'm gonna produce more of it. Afflict the comfortable...

The world has gone MAD!!!! Whelp, whatta ya gonna do?

Ampersand said...

I used to visit Canada a few times a year during the 1970s and 80s. Apart from a thinly disguised jealousy of,and condescension to, the US, it was a society that had large helpings of competence, sanity and decency. That seems to have changed.
Could it be their educational system? I'd be interested in comments from Canadians. Maybe I've got it wrong. All I'm going on is news reports, which have the potential for fallacies of composition.

Wince said...

It is widely known in Canada that one can be sued in civil court for damaging another's reputation. It is less known that one can go to prison. In Canada, it remains a criminal offence for one person to make public remarks about another person that are defamatory.

Remember, Canada is not a free country.

Criminal Code (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-46)
298 (1) A defamatory libel is matter published, without lawful justification or excuse, that is likely to injure the reputation of any person by exposing him to hatred, contempt or ridicule, or that is designed to insult the person of or concerning whom it is published.

Mode of expression

(2) A defamatory libel may be expressed directly or by insinuation or irony

(a) in words legibly marked on any substance; or

(b) by any object signifying a defamatory libel otherwise than by words.

stlcdr said...

What's the prosecution rate of people who commit theft of other peoples property? Are they suitably punished?

My suspicion would be 'negligible', and 'no'.

Which means the police have no choice to object to posting videos because it demonstrates the extent of the problem and their inaction. Rather than catch a thief they would rather come after you.

The thief knows where you live, and will steal. The police know where you live and will fine you and jail you. At what point is there no difference?

stlcdr said...

MadisonMan said...
If you post a video of something happening, and make no comment, how is this defamatory?

1/10/24, 10:43 AM


Ask Libs of TikTok.

Dude1394 said...

Cops had best stop posting photos of "presumed" innocent rapists, murderers, etc.

Hassayamper said...

Like our own government, the Canadian government is full to bursting with arrogant, lazy, corrupt leftists who hate the people that pay their salaries, and feel more kinship with the criminal class and foreign invaders and welfare leeches.

Government is the #1 enemy of humanity. If we don’t constantly work to undermine it and sabotage it and hold it up for hatred and contempt, we will ALWAYS find ourselves enslaved and oppressed. We must always vote for the politician who promises to strip government of the most revenue, personnel, power, and prestige, and we have to work hard to teach our children to hate government too. It’s running to stand still, and we will always have more of it than we would like, but I would hope that all decent people would consider themselves a permanent resistance movement against the over-reaching government scum.

The Vault Dweller said...

It would be nice for someone to ask that Police Officer who suggests just turning in that video to police and trusting them to handle it properly, how any Canadian citizen can do that when Canadian Police do things like this to a reporter. Police Protection

TobyTucker said...

Does this mean they're going to remove each and every security camera that's ever been installed in Canada? You sure wouldn't want to go to jail for 'defaming' any of those no doubt innocent folks that are mistakenly making off with your stuff, eh? And heaven forbid if they happen to be doing anything more serious than that! They'll lock you up and throw away the key.

You'd think there would be some limit to the amount of stupidity let loose in the world, then something like this shows up and you realize, nope, we're nowhere near the limit yet.

Tank said...

Isn’t the truth a defense to a defamation claim in Canada?

Hassayamper said...

Who do we have to emulate or admire anymore? Is there one sane country, one sane group of people left around the world?

Hungary.

Poland was good before the last election, when they put the globalists back in power for some demented reason.

Argentina and El Salvador are the dark horses coming up fast.

Static Ping said...

In Robocop 2, they reprogram the titular Robocop from his base 3 directives with 300 directives, all of the same priority, mostly psychobabble and political correct nonsense. Robocop finds it impossible to follow all these directives at the same time and becomes useless.

Welcome to the real-world version.

Rusty said...

Well. It's Quebec. It's not like it's a real province.

gilbar said...

TobyTucker said...
Does this mean they're going to remove each and every security camera that's ever been installed in Canada?

nope, i had to think about it for a bit, but what they're saying is:
The MAN has a Complete and Absolute right to observe Any thing, and Any one..
But ONLY The MAN has that right.

The MAN can have a security camera every 10 feet.. You CAN NOT film Your doorstep*

film Your doorstep* actually they EXPLICITLY Said that you Can and SHOULD film your doorstep (and your interior) but THE ONLY THING that you can do with that footage is: turn it over to The MAN

gilbar said...

ps. I guess i'm out of date. The Police could and should NEVER be assumed to be a MAN

Two-eyed Jack said...

The world has gone mad today and good's bad today
And black's white today, and day's night today
And that brief today filed by that thief today
Enjoins posting videos.

Václav Patrik Šulik said...

Meanwhile, a plain clothes Canadian police officer body checks* a journalist (who was trying to question a public official on a sidewalk) and then arrests the journalist for assault. Video here. Link goes to a twitter account.

*If you don't know what a body check is, here's a lesson (YouTube).

Yancey Ward said...

Yeah, that guy stealing your package off your porch might be completely innocent.

This is how the world ends, this is how the world ends

With imbecility.

Sheridan said...

I live in NW Montana and I say it's time to build a northern wall! Not to stop the cartels that transport fentanyl into the US from Canada. That fight is over and we lost. No, build the wall to stop the Canadians from coming over the border and bringing their socialist crap with them. Of course, we should also build a wall between Idaho and the socialist states of CA, WA and OR. Sadly, the US will eventually the country will be partitioned into little walled-off duchies just like medieval Europe.

DanTheMan said...

If you are upset about people stealing your packages, the government will help you kill yourself.
Problem solved.

Sheridan said...

The video makes me ruminate about the British presence in the North American continent prior to the Revolution. As bad as Canada is now the stifling dictatorship of the British Crown and Parliament in the hundred years run-up to the Revolution was much worse. There's a reason that the Founders wrote the Third Amendment.

Iman said...

“Dat back bacon belongs to teh people, eh!”

n.n said...

The first rule of publishing is that the Fourth Estate is a green complex.

Iman said...

“You’ll have to pry teh Molson Golden out of my cold, dead frostback hands, eh!”

robother said...

Some Quebecoise cop read about how security guards and staff in shops shoplifters in US cities are fired for attempting to stop shoplifters, and decided that Canada needed to defend its "Woker Than Thou" title. When you think about it, porch piracy is just shoplifting applied to Amazon.

Chuck said...

I'm with Althouse, inasmuch as I don't really understand the directive to not post doorbell cam video.

But I also don't understand Althouse's fear of re-delivering misdelivered packages. Why would anyone bother to post doorbell cam video of Althouse (or Meade, I expect would be more likely) politely and helpfully re-delivering a package? What's the risk there? Or what if someone DID post video of Meade helpfully redelivering a package, and posted it online as some sort of oblique suggestion that Meade wrongfully took, and then brought back, a package that wasn't his? I would regard that as defamatory, and I expect that Meade would too.

Anyway, the Quebec authorities aren't declaring open season on package thefts. They are saying, "Bring your claim, with your video recording, to us. We will investigate and prosecute those cases."

It is of course arguable that there might be some investigative benefit in crowdsourcing video-recorded identities. How much? I don't know. Have any cases of package thefts been broken in West Montreal thanks to online-viewing tips?

I do think that, if given a binary choice, I would prefer to live among folks like gun-controlled Montreal progressives rather than TrumpWing vigilantes who might shoot me if I ran out of gas and knocked on a door for help.

Aggie said...

The government doesn't want anybody surveilling anybody, because when that cat is let outta the bag, a government worker might get caught.

You voted for it, Canada. Put up, or shut up.

Oligonicella said...

defame transitive verb
1) To damage the reputation, character, or good name of (someone) by slander or libel. synonym: malign.
2) To disgrace.
3) To harm or destroy the good fame or reputation of; to disgrace; especially, to speak evil of maliciously; to dishonor by slanderous reports; to calumniate; to asperse.


1) Video evidence is neither slander nor libel.
2) Someone stealing is disgracing themselves.
3) Someone stealing is destroying their own "good fame or reputation" and posting video evidence is not to 'speak evil of maliciously' as the thief if doing the evil act, not the home owner.

What the hell is Canada thinking? Other than destroy their own culture.

Oligonicella said...

Althouse:
On that theory, they should tell you never to speak in public about anyone, because you might defame them.

What makes you think that isn't the end goal both there and here? Reflect on the threat to jail Peterson over not using the "correct" pronouns.

lonejustice said...

If you follow Jordan Peterson and Mark Steyn, then you already know how screwed up Canada is. It's a beautiful country, and I love to visit there, but it isn't free anymore, and I certainly wouldn't want to live there.

dbp said...

If you run video of a good Samaritan backwards, to make them look like a Philistine, that would be defamation. Otherwise, you should be in the clear. Showing an unaltered video would be literally, the truth, which is an iron-clad defense in a case of defamation.

loudogblog said...

They obviously don't care about the real definition of defamation.

This isn't about defamation because it's not defamatory to post a video of real events that isn't doctored.

This is a shot across the bow the bow to people who are pointing out a real problem that the government doesn't want to deal with.

Mr. Forward said...

Let's hope the Althouse fox isn't a porch pirate.

EdwdLny said...

Right, don't post. Instead, go to their home, retrieve your property, then ,tie a rope around their neck, tie the rope to your rear bumper and drive away. Of course, drive in as fuel efficient manner as possible.

Goju said...

Canada does not have Freedom of Speech. Never had it. As was explained to me, a person can be charged criminally for saying something that causes hurt or shame to another - even if the statements are true. Truth is not a defense in defamation.

Paul said...

Why didn't the Canadian Police say that when the trucker strike was going on?

iowan2 said...

"You cannot post the images yourself, you have to remember in Canada we have presumption of innocence."

Is that why Canada froze the bank accounts of those protesting truckers? Because they were presumed innocent?

Jim at said...

S, s and s.
No video needed. Or desired.

Mr. Forward said...

Remember all those leftists that were going to move to Canada if they lost an election? Apparently they did.

Big Mike said...

Isn’t the truth a defense to a defamation claim in Canada?

@Tank, I believe that the answer to your question is “No.”. Can someone confirm?

Bunkypotatohead said...

It's much easier for the police to arrest the victim of a crime, than to catch the perpetrator.
Similar to the way the US DOJ is suing Texas for trying to stop the illegal border crossings.

Left Bank of the Charles said...

“How could a video of package theft be false? I don't know, but I'm going to stop redelivering misdelivered packages that arrive at my door.”

Two thoughts here:

First, you’ve posed a tautology. If it’s a video of package theft, it’s true, but what if it is not theft? For example, let’s say your neighbor gets a package delivery picture email from Amazon, it’s clear from the picture that the picture is of your porch rather than their porch, and they come over to you house and get the package. The video might well look like theft, but isn’t.

Second, does Canada follow the Liberace rule of defamation, which as I understand it means you get damages if the defamation is true? Did anyone in the UK ever have to pay damages for falsely saying someone was gay?

Rocco said...

gilbar said...
“ps. I guess i'm out of date. The Police could and should NEVER be assumed to be a MAN.”

That’s right, trans men are men, dammit.

That also means we can now call vigilantes transpolice.