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VOL. 79 PART 3 MAY 2021
between Scylla and Charybdis” because they were either required to “curb
their protected rights of expression by signing and adhering to the Code of
Fair Campaign Practices” or left to be “branded by the State as a candidate
who will not ‘uphold basic principles of decency, honesty and fair play’”.
The court explained its metaphor as follows:
In Homer’s Odyssey, Odysseus had to overcome the obstacles of Scylla
and Charybdis. Charybdis was a mythical whirlpool off the Sicilian coast,
and was opposite the cave of Scylla. Scylla was a female sea monster who
threatened to devour six crewmen if the ship approached too closely.
Because these creatures lived on opposite shores of a narrow strait, it was
supposedly impossible to navigate away from one peril without falling
prey to the other. The goddess Circe instructed Odysseus: “Ah, shun the
horrid gulf! by Scylla fly. ’Tis better six to lose, than all to die.”
Sometimes judges are overwhelmed by the number of mythical creatures
from which to choose and, for example in the Ontario Superior Court’s reasons
for judgment in City of Toronto v. Uber Canada Inc., 2015 ONSC 3572,
cause them to co-exist: “The City finds itself caught between the Scylla of
the existing regulatory system, with its numerous vested interests characterized
by controlled supply and price, and the Charybdis of thousands of
consumer/voters who do not wish to see the competition genie forced back
into the bottle now that they have acquired a taste for it.”
Reportedly from the realm of parish bulletins:
“The ladies of the Church have cast off clothing of every kind. They may be
seen in the basement on Friday afternoon.”
“The class on prophecy has been cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances.”
“Ushers will swat the latecomers.”
“When parking on the north side of the church, please remember to park on
an angel.”
“The Senior Choir invites any member of the congregation who enjoys sinning
to join the choir.”
Ryan A. Krasman recently succeeded Brian B. Dybwad as the president of
the Campbell River Bar Association.
Jayde L. Wood was appointed to the council of the Applied Science Technologists
and Technicians of British Columbia for a term ending June 30, 2022.
Oh, to be before a jury … in Williams v. State of Missouri, 595 So. 2d 1299
(1992), the Supreme Court of Mississippi found nothing amiss in the prose-