An appalling article by Pierre Lemieux describes the latest criminal extortion of the tobacco industry by the Canadian Government – not that the contraband has decreased of course, because, fortunately, the Indian nations have taken over.
And extortion and a plea forced as gun point, as Pierre explains. This is what happens when people of the cut of Al Capone operate on the "right" side of the fence. Pierre’s story is truly appalling, and it should turn the stomach of every decent person. On the other hand, the entire Liberty in Canada site is an appalling chronicle of the actions of a dictatorial bureaucracy that perverts a once free nation.
After imposing criminal taxation on cigarettes that causes the contraband in the first place, and after making mandatory false information on the effects of tobacco on health (complete with revolting pictures), those who have the legal monopoly of violence proceed to loot their prey by another 1.15 billion dollars.
The charged "crime" is: “Aiding persons to sell or be in possession of tobacco products manufactured in Canada that were not packaged and were not stamped in conformity with the Excise Act and its amendments and the ministerial regulations”. We do not know whether that is actually true or not. But even if it were, applause is in order.
Let us have fun paraphrasing Minister O’Connor’s statement, released after the loot (stored copy), in a truthful key – even though the whole thing is not funny at all: ““Today’s announcement sends a strong message that all governments are united in their determination to steal every possible penny using the most criminal taxation possible, and address the problems and challenges posed by the contraband tobacco market that those very criminal governments caused in the first place. Governments are taking action so that no one will profit from evading Canada’s tax laws. We shall use any deception, fraud and violence that is necessary to ensure that we are the only thieves in town, and that competition is eliminated – no matter the cost. We are satisfied with the terms of the agreements, and with the fact that our victim, the tobacco industry, has bent over once again.”
Let us remember that:
The production cost of one pack of cigarettes is about 20 cents.
The profit of the manufacturer is about another 25 cents.
The cost of transporting that pack is no more than 2-3 cents.
The profit of the retailer is no more than 50 cents.
The total cost therefore is, at most, one dollar. How much are you paying for a pack of cigarettes, again?… Just take one dollar out, and what is left is the loot that criminal governments perpetrate on you. And who is the immoral entity, again – the smugglers or the governments? And what is the “cost of disease”, when they cannot even demonstrate scientifically that one death has occurred because of tobacco use? Where is the beef? The beef is here: those in charge of governments have the guns and the legal monopoly of violence, thuse airness and justice are irrelevant. They will punish anyone who dares competing with them, because they want the monopoly of theft.
Now you have it straight – because when something that costs 50 cents ends up costing the consumers five dollars because of taxation, that’s theft, pure and simple. And you thought you were a free man living in a free country, eh?… 
Long live contraband. Smoke Indian. Smoke a lot. Smoke right in their faces.
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