Legal Oddities (Part I): Funny weird laws still on the books in Canada

Think you’re not breaking the law? Think again!

We often think of the law as something born from logic – on the books to serve some end. While this is true for most laws, there are some that seem devoid of reason. This often a result of not aging well: while they may have made sense when they were originally passed, they lack relevance in the modern era. The following are some strange laws that many Canadians likely don’t know they’re breaking.

In Canada, it is illegal to:

Pretend to practice witchcraft

Harry Potter fans beware! According to the Canadian Criminal Code, it is illegal to pretend to perform any kind of “witchcraft, sorcery, enchantment or conjuration”. Note that it’s perfectly legal to perform magic legitimately – just be prepared to prove it!

Watch, or participate in immoral theatrical performances.

This restriction falls under Canada’s anti-obscenity laws. If you think this one hasn’t been used recently, think again. In 2005, a strip-club was fined $7,500 not for nudity, but for the use of sex toys during a performance.

Offend a public place with a bad smell.

Though aimed at preventing the use of stink-bombs and the like in public places, the wording of this law prohibits any “offensive volatile substance” (smell) that causes “discomfort” in public places. Pass gas at your own peril in Canada!

Distribute comic books depicting characters performing illegal acts.

A leftover of the moral panic of the 1950s, under the section of the Canadian Criminal Code outlining “Offenses tending to Corrupt Morals”, it is illegal to distribute “crime comics”, defined as being any publication that “substantially comprises matter depicting pictorially […] the commission of crimes, real or fictitious”. Technically, this means that Batman comics are contraband.

Advertise Erectile Dysfunction Drugs

This is another one of those “Offenses tending to Corrupt Morals”. Originally aimed at stopping fraudsters from selling fake remedies for virility, the law does not consider remedies that are actually proven to work. Sorry Viagra!

*If you’re looking for a criminal lawyer in Edmonton, click here.

*For more information on Canadian laws that actually make sense, click here to read about new impaired driving laws.

 

 

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