You Can't Do That in Canada!

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

If you want to wear snakeskin in Fredericton, you had better make sure
the original owner is no longer inside because it is against the law to
wear a live reptile in public. If you catch the flu in St. John’s, you
have 24 hours to report yourself to the city medical officer or you
might come down with a $50 fine. Chase someone for fun in a Toronto
cemetery and you might get tagged with a fine. It is now illegal to play
street hockey in some neighborhoods in Montreal, and bongo drumming is
illegal in downtown Victoria. Offend the general public with an
unnecessary bad smell anywhere in Canada, and you could spend up to two
years in a federal jail.

Who says studying Canadian law has to be boring? This hilarious book
lists more than 200 strange laws that once were or still are on the
books in this country. Some of them are definitely victims of changing
times (such as the ordinance against dragging dead horses through
Toronto on Sundays), while others will leave the reader scratching his
or her head. Dozens of comical illustrations provide extra laughs. If
you feel compelled to prove that you were paying attention, you can take
the test at the back of the book that challenges readers to separate
phony crazy laws from the real ones. Highly recommended.