CALGARY

The antics of so-called Freemen on the Land are becoming increasingly apparent, says the province’s Justice Minister.

And the province’s law enforcement system is still working on ways to minimize the impact of the sovereigntists who spurn legal, government and corporate authority, said Jonathan Denis.

“We’re certainly hearing more about it,” said Denis.

“The Crown and Justice department are alive to these issues ... I’m still finding time to address them.”

But officials in Denis’s department say they’re reluctant to even discuss the Freemen, for fear the movement will feed off the publicity.

And Denis said he’s loath to go into any details on how authorities are planning to further deal with the movement, adding it “might actually dilute” or weaken those efforts.

But the sovereigntist phenomenon isn’t new, noted Denis, and its presence has spurred a number of responses to it, particularly its legal maneuverings involving real estate and lawsuits.

Critics have called the tactics “paper terrorism” designed to clog the courts.

“We do have an approach that’s fairly successful in vexatious litigation, or someone who’s abusing the court system,” he said.

“You’re not allowed to file anything without taking leave.”

In a recent Calgary case, a self-professed Freeman on the Land lodged $17,000 in liens against his landlord’s northwest duplex.

Provincial officials are still sorting out the legality of that filing.

But Denis said provisions in the Builders Lien Act already provide remedies to that.

“Filing a false affidavit is an offence,” he said.

An Edmonton court case last year involving a Freeman’s divorce battle is seen by some as a possible watershed in dealing with the movement’s disregard of the law.

Court of Queen’s Bench Justice John Rooke shredded Dennis Larry Meads’ argument that the law wasn’t applicable to him — but added the exercise was useful.

“Mr. Meads’ submissions also make an excellent subject for a global review of the law concerning (the Freeman) community and its gurus, and how the court, lawyers, and litigants should respond to these vexatious practices and the persons who advance and advocate these techniques and ideas,” he wrote in a lengthy ruling.

But Denis said it’s also the public’s duty to perform due diligence to avoid Freemen-engineered legal quagmires.

“The vast majority of Albertans are law abiding, but get everything in writing, please,” he said.

The most common Freeman offence detected in Calgary is driving without proper authorization, said city police Staff Sgt. Julien Gagne.

Encounters with such offenders, he said, are unique in that officers are told the law is irrelevent — to little effect.

“They try to say they don’t fall under the laws we’ve got to enforce but that’s not reality,” said Gagne.

“It can set up for a confrontation.”

Police, said Gagne, have been instructed in the extreme libertarian Freemen ideology “so we know what we can be dealing with.”

But he said there’s nothing new in that philosophy that’s spanned numerous anti-government groups.

“It’s an ideology that’s been in existence for over 40 years,” he said.

“I don’t think it’s going to gain much momentum.”