Intimidation of Parliament

Intimidation of Parliament is an obscure criminal law in Canada that makes it a crime to violently intimidate the Parliament of Canada and the provincial legislatures. The maximum sentence is fourteen years. It reads:

51. Every one who does an act of violence in order to intimidate Parliament or the legislature of a province is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding fourteen years.

R.S., c. C-34, s. 51.^[1]

The law is one of only a handful of criminal offences, such as treason and piracy, that are automatically heard by the Federal Court of Canada rather than the Provincial courts. It is a very rare crime. One of the only individuals to be charged with the crime in recent decades was Charles Yacoub who hijacked a Greyhound bus and had it driven onto Parliament Hill in 1989. In his trial Yacoub was later found not guilty of the particular charge.^[2]

References

1. http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/showdoc/cs/C-46//20090613/en?command=search&caller=SI&fragment=intimidating%20Parliament&search_type=exact&day=13&month=6&year=2009&search_domain=cs&showall=L&statuteyear=all&lengthannual=50&length=50 Criminal Code of Canada - Intimidating Parliament or legislature
2. "Yacoub acquitted of 3 of 5 charges in hijacking of bus to Parliament Hill." Edmonton Journal. Edmonton, Alta.: Mar 7, 1990. pg. A.4