Mike Myers, John Oliver in the Center of Canadian Law Dispute
Last Sunday's episode of John Oliver's "Last Week Tonight" on HBO where he and comedienne Mike Myers made strong and bold statements and jokes regarding the Canadian election candidates and process including the Canadian laws, have been receiving heavy speculations as to whether the two personalities have breached Canadian Laws.
Oliver and Myers in their 15-minute comedy talk show talked about Prime Minister Stephen Harper, mainly mentioning that "his government passed a law called the Zero Tolerance for Barbaric Cultural Practices Act, stiffening penalties for things like honor killing and polygamy, despite the fact that both those things were already illegal in Canada," as per The Hollywood Reporter.
"Then, a few weeks ago, they suggested a 'barbaric cultural practices hotline,' despite the fact that 911 continues to exist in Canada. And this is on top of the fact that they once banned women from wearing the niqab while taking the oath of citizenship," he added.
Not only that the hosts also ridiculed one Canadian law that prohibits foreigners from influencing Canadian elections. "That is a ridiculous law," Myers said as quoted by The Canadian Press.
"You think I'm scared of six months in a Canadian prison? What's that - six months of living in Ottawa? As for your $5,000 fine, I simply can't imagine a better way to spend 5,000 Canadian dollars," he added.
Myers also boldly stated that Harper shouldn't be re-elected. "But if telling you not to vote for Stephen Harper is going to cost me $5,000, I'm going to get my money's worth. And I'm going to do it in the most Canadian way possible," he said.
However, the two are apparently not legally in trouble. "The expression of personal political views by Canadians or non-Canadians as to which parties or candidates they support is not an offence under the Act," John Enright, Elections Canada spokesman informed.
"This also applies to Mr. Oliver," he added. Apparently, Enright explained that the two failed to meet the standards of the law to "induce" in order for them to be legally sanctioned. "To induce there must be a tangible thing offered. A personal view is not inducement," he explained.
Meanwhile there are still no official statements coming from Oliver or Myers to answer the recent issue.
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